Life in Termina
by JesusLover13
Summary: Grog's life is far from perfect. He's lonely and his only friend is his sister, the cucco-lover, Anju. But when he and his family move to Clock Town, he just might find a friend - as well as a few enemies.
1. Moving

**Well, this is my first ever Legend of Zelda fan fiction. I started it a while back; so, I figured I'd put it on here. Since it has more chapters already written, whoever likes this won't be without a chapter when I have to update my other fan fictions. ^_^**

** PLEASE READ THIS: This story is mainly about Anju and her brother, Grog. Grog doesn't have many fan fictions - or barely any - that include him or have him even mentioned in them. So, since I suddenly had interest in this character, I figured that I'd give him some love and write a fan fiction about him. However, this does change a little bit of the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask games. It will be mentioned; but I wanted to tell you, anyway.**

** When Grog goes into the Lost Woods on OoT, we all know he ends up turning into a monster. But in this story, it is said that he _did _turn into a monster, but Link created a potion to save him instead.**

** The rest that is different from OoT and MM... well, you'll see, I suppose. Sorry this author's note was so long. Enjoy the story, though! =)**

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>"So, are we really going to be arriving at Termina in only five hours?"<p><p>

"Yes; we are. Now, please, be quiet and get the rest of your things packed."

"Can my cuccos come, too?"

"They can, but they are not staying with us."

"But who will they stay with? And what about their food? Will they get train-sick? They've never been on a train before."

"I'm sure they'll be fine."

"Oh! No they won't! My poor cuccos! I love them so much!" The young girl turned to her grandmother. "Granny, do you think they will be okay?"

"Oh, Tortus, the cuccos will be fine. Now, do you want me to read you a story?"

"I'm not Tortus. Tortus was my grandfather. But anyway, about the cuccos-"

"Enough, Anju! If you keep going on and on about the cuccos I'll get rid of 'em!" yelled Anju's father, Mutoh.

Anju lived with her mom, dad, grandma, younger brother, and eight cuccos (one of who belonged to her brother). She had long, straight red hair and blue eyes. She had been asking lots of questions about the new place they were going to be moving to to her mom all morning. It was irritating her father terribly. Which, it made him even more mad when she brought his mother into the conversation. Anju sighed and let it go. There was no use in arguing with him.

He was the boss of everything. Of the village that they lived in, of the workers who worked for him, and of the family. The only one who was the boss of him was his mother, because even she, old and wrinkly, could still spank his butt when needed.

Anju placed a dress into her suitcase. That's when the door burst open and in came two of Mutoh's workers, each holding Anju's brother, Grog, by the arms. He was pale and so skinny you could almost see his ribs. He had a mow-hawk on top of a bald head, and not many friends.

"Hey boss, look who _we _found trying to run away by jumping over the village's fence," snarled one of the workers.

Grog looked at his dad and swallowed hard. He didn't look scared or worried, his face remained emotionless, even though on the inside, he was terrified.

The two workers threw him toward his dad; he landed on his hands and knees. He looked over his shoulder and shot the workers an angry look. They laughed.

"Get up!" Mutoh ordered.

Not wanting to, Grog stood up.

"Why were you trying to run away?" Mutoh yelled. "You knew that we were moving today!"

"That's _why _I was running away," Grog muttered under his breath.

"Speak up," Mutoh ordered. "I can't hear you."

Grog sighed. "I said that's why I was running away! Don't you get it? I don't wanna move! I want to stay here!"

"Why do you want to stay so bad?" Mutoh asked, using a harsh voice.

"What if that boy comes back?" Grog asked. His whole family had heard the story about him making only one friend in his whole life. Although, most of his family didn't even believe that. He didn't know the boy's name, but the boy had saved his life.

He had wandered into the Lost Woods, fallen asleep, and woke up to the sound of his cucco, Cojiro, crowing. A boy was holding Cojiro. Only nice people could tame the cucco, so, Grog had assumed that the boy was nice. He gave him a potion to get to his grandmother. By the time the boy had gotten the potion and returned to the Lost Woods, Grog had turned into a monster. The medicine that his grandmother made could not heal a monster, so, the boy came up with a potion on his own and saved Grog. After that, they never saw each other again. Other than Anju, no one in Grog's family believed that there was a boy in the woods.

"Shut up about that boy! It's been years since then! He ain't never comin' back! Now, next time I catch you tryin' to run away, you're going to wish you could have!" Mutoh yelled.

"Come on, Grog. I'll help you pack." Anju said, wrapping one arm around her brother's shoulders and walking with him over to all the suitcases. "I believe you," she whispered.

Grog was glad, but didn't smile. "Thank you," he whispered back.

An hour later, they arrived at the train station. Mutoh let his four workers come with them. That way, when they reached Termina, he would at least have some decent workers with him. So, they all got their suit cases and piled onto the train. Grog took a seat beside a window. Anju sat down next to him. He didn't look at her, he just stared out the window.

"What's wrong?" Anju asked.

"I didn't wanna leave," Grog answered quietly.

"It won't be as bad as you think," Anju promised.

"That's easy for you to say. You've at least _had _some friends before in your life. I have only had one. Which, doesn't really make a difference since I don't know his name and I'll probably never see him again," Grog replied.

"Don't say that. I'm sure you'll see him again. And as for the name thing, I know his name," Anju told him.

Grog, for the first time in years, turned to Anju and gave her a half-smile. "You do?" he asked, a spark of excitement in his voice. Anju nodded. "I think it was... Link," she said.

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><p><p>

**Review if you liked it, please! =D**


	2. Meanwhile

**This is really short; but I hope you like it, either way.**

**I might need to include this real quick: Link isn't going to have Tatl as his fairy in this, he's going to have Navi. It might change later on; but for now that's what going on. :)**

**Chaos Wielder: That is seriously one of the nicest reviews I've ever gotten on any of my fan fictions before! Thank you SO much for the review! Thank you also for being nice _and _giving me constructive criticism! It gave me a great start off to the morning! Lol. So, yes. I will try to add more detail and stuff. I'm going to read over the chapters that are already written and see if I can write anymore chapters today. Also, this is going to tie into Majora's Mask. It's just that they'll be the same characters even though they might have played a little bit of different roles in each game. It'll turn out a little differently. It's just kind of hard to explain. So, I hope all that made sense. =) Thanks a lot for the review it means a lot to me! ^_^ I hope you like this chapter! =D**

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><p> "What about that apple over there; can you shoot that?"<p>

"I think so."

He sent an arrow flying through the air. It flew to a far away tree and right through the apple. The apple fell forty feet and then finally hit the ground. "Interesting. I wonder what other skills you have."

"You should be wondering what skills I _don't _have."

Navi rolled her tiny, white eyes. She was a fairy. Her companion was a boy, blond with sky blue eyes; adventurous, kind, strong, smart. They made a great team. Along with their trusted partner Epona, they were unstoppable.

Navi and the boy were up high in a tree. Epona, their horse, was on the ground. So far, they had practiced archery, throwing deku nuts, and longshotting from tree to tree. They couldn't practice bombing or using fire arrows, because they didn't want to draw attention to themselves; and plus, they didn't want to do anything too drastic, like, say, blow up the forest, for instance.

"What should we do now?" the boy asked.

"Hmm..." Navi looked around. The sun was just setting. "Link!" she exclaimed. "The sun is setting! We've gotta get back to Clock Town!"

"All right," Link replied, grabbing his sword, shield, and bag full of weapons. "Let's go find a place to sleep for tonight."

He jumped down onto the ground and started toward Clock Town. Navi followed close behind him, flapping her pretty, white wings gracefully.

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><p><strong>It was really short! I'll try to put the next chapter on here today and if I don't get a chance, then I will another day. Thanks for reading! Review if you like it, please! =D<strong>


	3. Never Give Up

**Okay. So... what should I tell you guys about in this chapter?**

**Well, for starters, it has a small original character that will not play a big part at all in this story. But I needed to have him in here to get it going somewhere. Also, this chapter is a little over dramatic, even for me. Well, I think so, at least. And there's no way to change that unless I write a completely different chapter. So, please, I pray it doesn't sound too cheesy! =P**

**A few things from Majora's Mask are changed in this chapter, I think.**

**And... I hope this chapter gives you more of a clearer vision of how I think Grog and Anju's relationship is. It also shows how Grog's life probably was on an almost regular basis. I don't know. Aaaah! I'm so nervous about this chapter!  
><strong>

**But I think that's about it. Now to answer your nice reviews!**

**Chaos Wielder: Thanks for another nice review! =D I know. It was purposely short. I was just using it when I had writer's block. And yeah. I did say I had more chapters written. I just didn't mention that they needed some serious editing. ^_^ Lol. You're right. I guess I'll just say that he found her after he came to Clock Town. I told you that this needed editing and I didn't think to mention that in the beginning of the last chapter. =P And thanks for saying that you liked everyone's interactions. Hopefully you'll like Grog and Anju's interactions in this chapter! Thank you so much for the review! Your reviews always make my day! ^_^**

**Now, here's the next chapter! =)**

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><p>"How do you know his name?" Grog asked Anju.<p>

"He used to help me with my cuccos," Anju explained.

By the time the train had arrived at the Termina train station, it was already dark outside. After a few minutes of walking, Anju, her family, and Mutoh's workers arrived at Clock Town. "Where are we going to stay?" Anju asked.

"I have a brother who owns an inn here. He's going to retire soon and he told me that we could live in his in as long as we run it for him from now on," Granny explained.

"What? Mom! Why did you agree to that?" Mutoh yelled.

Granny laughed. "Because I won't have to lift a finger. It'll be your job to run the inn," she explained.

"No! That'll _not _be my job! My workers and I are too manly to work at some stupid inn! That's a job for the girly girls. Which, of course, means my wife, Anju, and Grog," Mutoh replied.

Grog closed his eyes and sighed. He wondered why people always questioned why he always tried to run away.

A minute later, they were in East Clock Town, another part of Clock Town. It didn't take them long to find the inn. Anju silently read the sign beside the front door.

_The Stock Pot Inn._

They walked inside to see Granny's brother, Tom, standing behind a counter.

"Hello, everyone!" he exclaimed. He walked away and a minute later, they saw him come from around the other direction. He hurried over to them all. "So, how's my beautiful sister?" Tom asked, hugging Granny.

"I'm good. Glad to be out of Kakariko Village," Granny replied with a smile.

"Still have your wheelchair, I see," Tom commented.

"Yep," Granny said.

"Hi Mutoh, hi Catrina," Tom said, hugging Mutoh and his wife. "Thank you guys so much for offering to take over my inn."

"Bull crap," muttered Mutoh.

Tom rolled his eyes and walked over to Anju, who was standing still near the door and smiling pleasantly. "How are you, my sweet niece Anju?" Tom asked.

"I'm good. How are you?" Anju answered.

"I'm good, too," Tom replied. He looked at Grog, who was standing stiffly and silently beside Anju. Tom's eyes lit up at the sight of his nephew. "Grog," he said. "I haven't seen you since you were born."

Grog looked at him. "No wonder I don't remember you."

Tom laughed, but when Grog's face remained emotionless, Tom studied it. There was no sign of that being a good-natured joke, not according to Grog, at least.

Tom cleared his throat and turned to Mutoh's workers. "Uh... who are you all?"

"We're Mutoh's servants!" exclaimed one of them.

"It's not like we get paid or anything," said another one. "We just work him, because we're scared of him."

Mutoh shot him a very scary look.

Grog laughed. As rude as his dad's servants had been to him over the years, they deserved that.

Another servant turned around and glared at him. "You laughin' at my buddy, punk?"

Grog raised his eyebrows. "Do you want me to laugh at you instead?"

"That's it!" the servant yelled. He shoved Grog hard.

Grog was slammed against the door. He winced, but he still kept trying to keep it together. He wouldn't give the workers or his dad the satisfaction of seeing him upset.

The worker pulled back his fist and punched Grog right in the eye. Grog's hands immediately went to his face. He covered it with his his hands and slowly sank to the ground.

Mutoh smirked.

Anju saw him and her face flushed with anger. She quickly squatted down next to Grog. "You okay?" she asked.

Grog didn't answer; he was crying.

Anju put her arms around him, as if to shelter him from any harm, and then helped him stand.

He was determined to keep his hands covering his face. He wouldn't let them see him cry.

"Head upstairs," Anju whispered to him. "I'll be there in one minute. I've got something I need to take care of."

Grog slowly walked up the stairs.

Once Anju heard a door shut, she turned furiously toward her family and the servants.

"I don't care if I am here or not; if I ever hear that _any _of you have hurt my brother, you're going to have a new change of plans, because that was not very nice and next time, I'll do something about it. And you'll _all _be sorry," she told them angrily.

Then, she stormed upstairs. She found Grog in the employees' room, where from now on, they would be living. There was four different beds, a few desks and mirrors, and two bathrooms. Grog was sitting on a stool in front of a desk, looking in a mirror. His good eye was a little red where he had been crying and the other eye was a mixture of dark purple and an even darker purple. It was swollen and he wished he could just make it go away. He saw Anju come in and he closed his eyes.

"It doesn't bother me to look at your eye," Anju said. She stood close to the door, where she could see his reflection in the mirror.

"I know," Grog replied, his eyes still closed.

"Then why did you close your eyes?" Anju asked.

Grog sighed. "Maybe Dad and his workers are right. Maybe Link should have let me turn into a monster... or..." he trailed off, hoping Anju knew what he was about to say. He opened his eyes and saw that Anju looked confused.

"Or what?" she asked hesitantly.

"Or maybe I _am _one," Grog finished.

Anju eyes widened. "How could you possibly think that?" she asked, appalled. She walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "You're _not _a monster. You're a good person. Why would you even think that way?"

"It makes more sense," was all Grog said in reply.

"What do you mean _'It makes more sense'_?" Anju asked.

"It would explain why I don't have any friends. It would explain why Dad and his servants hate me. It would explain why you try to protect me from everyone." Grog looked down at the desk. "It would explain why I'm not like the rest of our family."

Anju pulled up another stool and sat it beside him. Then, she sat on it. "You should be glad you're not like the rest of our family," Anju said, trying to give him a reassuring smile.

"I am; but just because they're _called _my family, doesn't mean they are. You, you're really my family. I wanna be like _you. _You are the nice one. You're the girl who takes care of those cuccos even though you're allergic to them. You're the one who stands up for me. You're the girl who cares for everyone even when they don't care for you. You're... you're the one who loves me... even when other people don't... even when I don't love myself. You're my hero," Grog replied.

Anju was shocked. That was the longest speech he'd ever made. "Wow," was all she could manage to say. "I never knew you payed that much attention to what I do. I mean, other than the cuccos I didn't know that you actually cared," she added.

"But I do. More than anything," Grog said. He was trying hard to keep the emotion out of his voice. He didn't want to come off as some soft person. That wasn't who he thought he was. But he knew he needed to tell her this. "Back in Kakariko Village, those nights when I'd sit at that tree, I would watch you, herding the cuccos into the house, where they would be safe. Watering the plants for Mom. Sweeping the porch. Talking to the people who passed by. I'd always think about how nice you were, how you were the perfect friend, the perfect sister. I would watch you for an hour, until you'd go inside. Then, I would feel lonely again. Nothing is the same without you here. Without my sister with me. And all this time... I've been wishing that I could find one boy who _was _a friend; when, the truth is, I already _have _a friend. You're my best friend, Anju."

Anju grabbed his hands and held them in hers; the way she would do when he was a baby. "You're my best friend, too, Grog. Which is why you can't give up. Why you can't go back into the Lost Woods. Why you can't think that you're a monster. _Don't ever _give up. You have to keep going," Anju replied.

"I will. I promise," Grog said. The next thing he did surprised Anju more than anything. Grog smiled. Not a grin, not a half-smile that you rarely see. It was a real smile. The one that made her happy. He hadn't smiled like that in a while. He hugged her. "Thank you," he whispered. "No," Anju replied. "Thank _you._"

That's when they heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" Anju asked, standing up.

"It's me, Mutoh," said a voice from the other side of the door.

Anju watched as every single last bit of happiness quickly left Grog's face. He turned around and watched the door behind him in the mirror. "Let him in," he said.

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><p><strong>Sorry for the long author's note at the top, everyone. But I hope you liked the chapter! Thanks for reading! And review if you like it, please! :)<strong>


	4. The List

** Another chapter! ^_^**

** I now have all the chapters I've written so far edited! I just have to write the rest of chapter six and start on chapter seven and I'll be happy! Which, I already am. But... yeah! =D**

** This chapter changes nothing about the Majora's Mask game and I'm not really sure what everyone will think of it. But I like it okay! =)**

** Chaos Wielder: Thanks SO much for the reviews! Those last two reviews are seriously the best reviews I've ever gotten! Not only did they include constructive criticism, they were also very nice and they made me feel happy (as all your other reviews have before)! So, thank you. You are officially my favorite reviewer! ^_^ I really hope that you like this chapter! :)**

** Now, to answer your review. =) Yes, I really tried hard to make Mutoh as much as a jerk as possible. Which, he seemed like one in the game, so, that's why. Oh! I didn't mean for you not to be able to understand that part about Grog and Tom. I'll go and change it when I get a chance! And thanks for saying that you like how I portray Grog in this story! It means a lot! And yes, I tried to make it where it seems like Grog and Mutoh's workers had some arguments/fights in the past without ever having to do a flashback or anything like that. I never really pictured them getting along really well. Thanks a bunch for what you said about Anju! I'm glad she didn't seem too out of character! =D So, overall, thank you SO much for the review and again, you are my favorite reviewer ever! Thanks so much! =D**

** Oh. And I will correct the spelling errors. Thank you. =)  
><strong>

** Well, here is another chapter! I hope anyone who reads it likes it! ^_^**

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><p>Without warning, the door swung open and in came Mutoh. "Anju, I need to talk to Grog. Alone," he said firmly.<p>

Anju didn't move; she just crossed her arms and stood there.

"_Get out _before I _throw _you out," Mutoh ordered, growing angrier.

"Look," Anju replied firmly. "You can't-"

Grog interrupted her. "Go, Anju. I'll be fine," he said, sounding fearless.

Anju hesitated, but then walked out of the room.

Mutoh shut the door when she was gone.

Grog stood up and turned around to face his dad. It was clear that Grog's left eye was still throbbing and swollen.

Mutoh laughed. "My worker got you good. I'm glad. You deserved it."

Grog stood up straighter, hanging on to Anju's words. _Don't ever give up. You have to keep going. _"What're you here for? What do you want?" he asked, sounding brave.

"Well, what do _you _think?" Mutoh asked.

Grog looked deep into his father's eyes. "You want me to do something. But not a favor where I can do it if I want; you're going to make me do something," he answered. Over the years, he had gotten used to the look in his dad's eyes whenever he wanted something.

"How did you know that?" Mutoh demanded.

Grog remained calm. "You always want something from me," he answered quietly.

"Good to know that you realize that," Mutoh snarled. "Anyway, you're right. I _do_ want something. I want you to work here tomorrow. _You're _going to run the counter." He threw a paper at Grog. "That's tomorrow's schedule for you. Stick to it or my workers will stick it to you. The hard way." And with that, Mutoh had left the room.

Grog slowly bent down and picked up the paper. He read it and grew more and more furious as he did. "Argh!" he yelled, balling up the paper and throwing it on the floor. Then, he remembered his father's words, _Stick to it. Or my worker's will stick it to you. The hard way. _Grog picked up the paper and unballed it. Then, he walked out of the room. He was heading to the balcony of the inn. He had just grabbed hold of the door handle to the balcony when Anju walked up to him.

"Where are you-" He cut her off.

"Need some air," he said.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he answered her calmly. "I just need to be alone for a while."

Grog stepped out onto the balcony, feeling the fresh and cool air rushing around him. He shut the door behind him and breathed in deep. He sat on the edge of the balcony; letting his legs hang off. He looked at the paper that Mutoh had gave him. There was a list of things to do on it. The list read:

"Wake up at 4:00AM,

Get ready for the day, try to at least look better than normal,

The inn opens three and a half hours earlier than usual, which means 4:30AM,

you are to be behind the counter by 4:25AM,

you work until 4:00PM and then Anju takes your shift,

as soon as Anju is behind the counter, be a good little inn worker and pick up everyone's dirty clothes (even your own) and put them in a basket,

take all of the clothes to the Laundry Pool and wash them,

I expect you to be done by 5:00PM (one of my workers will come check),

head to Romani Ranch and get a bag full of milk (all the milk should be in bottles inside the bag),

come all the way back to Clock Town and deliver the milk to the Milk Bar (going to Romani Ranch and coming back to the Milk Bar should only take 30 minutes; one of my workers will make sure that you have done it by then),

head to the Mayor's office and have a chat with him about my workers and I building a new building,

while you're still at the Mayor's Residence talk to Madame Aroma about it also (This should only take 2 hours),

by then it should be 7:30PM, so, go to the bank and start me a bank account (that should take 30 minutes),

then, come back to the inn.

HAHA! GOT YOU! You thought that was all, right? Well, you were wrong! Here is the rest:

When you're back at the inn, go into the kitchen and fix your poor, old grandmother some soup,

after you give it to her, go to the store and buy 3 turkeys,

then when you bring them back, cook all three of them and be sure to only give them my servants, my wife, and I,

all of that should only take an hour.

Next, I want you to sweep outside of the inn and then come in and sweep every room in the inn (that should only take thirty minutes),

then, make sure that every guest is happy, afterward, turn off all of the lights in the inn and go to the employees' room.

Grab my hunting gear and go out into Termina field, toward the swamp, to hunt (that should take you 2 hours),

then, come back to the inn, put your game in the kitchen and put my gear in our bedroom.

Afterward, I'll need you to go to the store and buy me some candy (if the store is closed, sneak in, leave the money on the counter).

By then, it should be 12:00AM and you are free to do what you want.

Throughout the day, my workers are going to check up on you; to make sure that you're doin' your job.

Mutoh."

Grog sighed. How he could do all of that in just a day, he didn't know. All he knew was, that he _had _to do it. He didn't want another black eye to match the one he already had. But he was already tired, and he knew that he'd need to rest to get through the next day. He moved away from the edge of the balcony and scooted close to the huge gong-like thing hanging on it. He leaned against the board that held it up. He folded the paper and put it in his pocket. His eyelids grew heavier and he closed them.

While asleep, Grog had nightmares about the next day. About him getting another black eye, about one of Mutoh's servants beating him up and pushing him into the Laundry Pool, about Anju getting taken away from him and disappearing, because he could not finish his jobs. The last one came more often, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wake up. For hours, he screamed, talked, and cried in his sleep. The agonizing nightmares went on and on. To Grog, they felt real and they kept coming back.

_Grog was in a hurry. He seemed to be running behind. His feet were pounding the ground so hard that it stung. He was running. Quickly, at that. The world around him looked like a blur. He was focusing only on reaching his destination. He was already almost an hour late for that._  
><em> He reached the Laundry Pool and skidded to a halt so that he wouldn't fall in. He glanced down at his pale hands and was confused at why there was no laundry basket with him. He walked over to the water and looked into it at his reflection. It was staring back at him with emotionless eyes.<em>  
><em> He began to get the weird feeling that someone was watching him. He shuddered a little and then jumped when he realized that there was another reflection in the water that wasn't just his own.<em>  
><em> Beside his reflection, he could see a very familiar face.<em>  
><em> He quickly looked up and into the eyes of the newcomer. It was Sabooro and Shiro, two of Mutoh's workers.<em>  
><em> "I see you haven't been washing clothes like you were supposed to," snarled Sabooro.<em>  
><em> Shiro looks at his friend. "So, Sabooro, I was thinking we teach him not to ever forget his chores. What do you think?"<em>  
><em> "I think we should."<em>  
><em> Grog nearly glared at them as they came closer to him.<em>  
><em> He clenched his hands into fists and took a step back.<em>  
><em> They came toward him some more, scary-looking grins on their faces.<em>  
><em> Grog didn't show it, but he was afraid.<em>  
>Grog's heart was beginning to pound harder as the dream kept going.<br>_ He swung a right punch at Shiro and Shiro dodged it._  
><em> "Like you could ever hurt us."<em>  
><em> Grog was silent as he watched the two of them. The only sound that could be heard was the natural sound of the workers' deep breathing and the sound of the wind blowing around them. Grog thought fast, ran between the workers and headed to get out of that place. He needed people to be around. He needed someone to be able to stop them if they tried to hurt him. But he wasn't about to call for help.<em>  
><em> He was nearly out of the Laundry Pool area when he felt strong arms grab hold of his shoulders and pull him back.<em>  
><em> "You're not getting away that easily, Grog."<em>  
><em> He slammed his eyes shut and he felt someone punch him in the stomach. Once. Twice.<em>  
><em> He nearly winced, but held it in, instead.<em>  
><em> Someone punched him in the eye that wasn't already black. He opened his eyes and saw that it was kind of blurry.<em>  
><em> Another punch to his stomach.<em>  
><em> He was trying hard to gulp in lungfuls of air.<em>  
><em> He felt himself being picked up and tossed.<em>  
><em> His eyes snapped open just in time for him to land in the freezing water of the Laundry Pool. He sat there for a moment, frozen by the water and the punch he had received before he had flown into the pool.<em>  
><em> He was confused as both Shiro and Sabooro ran out of the small area and toward South Clock Town. He wondered what they were up to; but didn't really want to make a point to go chasing after trouble.<em>  
><em> He slowly got out of the water, shivering a little.<em>  
><em> He left a track of puddles and footprints behind himself as he walked to the main part of South Clock Town. He only wanted more than any thing to get back to the inn.<em>  
><em> He had just entered East Clock Town when he heard a high-pitched scream.<em>  
><em> His heart began to pound when he realized he recognized the scream. He raced toward the inn at a fast speed and skidded to a halt before he could reach the door. He spotted Shiro, Sabooro, and Anju all standing on the balcony of the inn. Sabooro had a knife held to Anju's throat.<em>  
><em> Grog ran through the inn and was on the balcony in seconds.<em>  
><em> Shiro turned to him, an evil look on his face.<em>  
><em> Grog had tears in his eyes and was trying to come up with a plan. His hands clenched into fists as he took a brave step forward.<em>  
><em> "Come any closer and Sabooro will drop her to the ground. Hard," Shiro threatened.<em>  
><em> Grog said nothing. He looked worriedly at his older sister and saw that she, too, was crying. It wasn't very often that she ever cried.<em>  
><em> "Let her go," Grog ordered.<em>  
><em> "Why would we do that?" Sabooro asked.<em>  
><em> "Because you'll be sorry if you don't." Grog took a small step forward.<em>  
><em> Sabooro held the knife closer to Anju's throat. Anju cried harder.<em>  
><em> Grog, hoping to catch everyone off guard and save his sister, ran as quick as he could toward Sabooro.<em>  
><em> Sabooro let go of Anju and she fell.<em>  
><em> Jiro quickly ran over to Anju down below, picked her up, and ran out of East Clock Town.<em>  
><em> "You'll never see her again after this," said Sabooro.<em>  
><em> "And that's what you get for not finishing your jobs," Shiro added, smirking.<em>  
>"NO!" Grog screamed out loud, his heart pounding, lots of tears streaming down his face. His eyes snapped open for a second, but he quickly drifted off to sleep again after a minute where many different dreams came and went, all of them horrifying.<p>

Down below, someone was hiding; quietly watching him scream. Feeling sorry for him. But the person did not feel sorry enough for him to reveal its identity.

Grog continued to scream until, suddenly, out of no where, he felt a warm hand touch his frozen arm.

He woke up, screaming at Anju to run. Even though he was awake, he still felt like he was in his nightmare. His heart was beating out of his chest and he was... wet. He then realized how bad he had been sweating. Panting, he whirled his head around in every direction.

That's when he spotted the person who'd touched his arm. "Anju! You've got to get out of here!" he yelled. "They're coming!"

Anju stared at him, sad and confused. "Grog," she said quietly. "_Who's _coming?"

That's when one of Mutoh's servants opened the balcony door and stormed out.

"Him!" Grog cried, his voice hoarse. Within seconds, he had pushed Anju behind him and quickly put on a determined face. "Get back!" he yelled. "Or you'll regret coming out here!"

The worker, Sabooro, looked at Anju with a blank expression. "Has your stupid brother lost it or what?" he snarled.

"Um..." Anju had no idea; she could tell that Grog wasn't acting as he usually did.

"If you take her away from me again, I'll kill you!" Grog threatened.

Worry finally set in for Anju. "Grog! I'm right here! No one took me; I'm fine," she explained.

Grog turned around and looked into his sister's big blue eyes. "What?" he asked, confused.

"I'm okay," Anju said.

"B-but-he and... you-and-"

Anju put a hand over Grog's mouth. "You're awake now," she explained calmly.

Grog let out a sigh of relief. "It was just a nightmare," he whispered. _But it might be a nightmare that'll come true if I don't do my jobs tomorrow, _he thought.

"Why were you sleeping out here?" Anju asked.

"I needed some space," Grog explained.

"You're frozen. You shouldn't have stayed out here so long!" Anju said.

"What? Frozen? I'm sweating," Grog replied.

"Oh no! You must have a fever!" Anju cried. She quickly rushed Grog inside and made him lay down.

Then, for the next hour, she made him drink water and eat the soup that she had made. "Really, Anju, I promise you, I'm okay. I'm better," Grog tried to reassure her as she tried to put a spoonful of soup in his mouth. He didn't want to tell her, but she really was a bad cook.

Soon enough, though, he'd finished his soup and went back out onto the balcony.

Anju went out there with him. "If you're going to sleep in the cold. So am I," she said, handing Grog a small blanket.

Grog nodded, but didn't didn't smile. "Thanks," he said.

A few minutes later, Anju had fallen asleep. Grog got the blanket and covered her with it. Then, he, too, went to sleep.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Review if you like it, please! =D The next chapter will be a little more hectic. Is that good or bad? You'll see. =D<strong>


	5. Worse Than Expected

**Hi again, people who have read this fan fiction so far!**

**It's been longer than usual since I updated, I think. But I've been kind of busy lately. I finished Script Frenzy the other day and won - I wrote all 102 pages in a month! It was my first time ever doing it and I was so happy! ^_^ So, hopefully, now, I can spend more time writing! =D**

** Anyways. I don't think this chapter changes any thing in the game. Except that maybe they have different guests in the inn.**

** Oh! I'd like to thank LaZMMiSY for adding this story to her favorites! It means a lot and thank you for doing that. =)**

** Now, to reply to my awesome reviewer...**

**Chaos Wielder: I'm SO sorry about your uncle! I know it's sad to lose someone and I hope that you and your family keep joy in your hearts and that you know that he's in a better place. :)**

** And I would hope it makes you feel special! =D I hope it wasn't too over the top. The list, I mean. But yeah, Mutoh is real mean. He never seemed to be nice to anyone in the game, so... yeah. Not really sure what else to say. Lol. As for the dream thing... I've been working on writing a dream into that chapter. It's coming along okay right now, I just have to finish it and put it on here in the last chapter. But thank you for suggesting it! It really helps! ^_^ Believe it or not, though, it's kind of hard for me to write violence, like fights and stuff. I'm not really sure why, though. So, hopefully it'll turn out good in the end! =P I actually added the part where it states plainly that she is a bad cook before I posted that chapter. When I first wrote it, it was implied, but I didn't want anyone to read over it and not understand, so, I just added that. ^_^**

** Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter! :D**

* * *

><p>Throughout the rest of the night, Grog didn't scream in his sleep. The next morning, he woke up at four o'clock to hear his cucco, Cojiro, crowing from somewhere far away. He guessed that Anju didn't hear Cojiro crow, because she didn't wake up.<p>

Quietly, he got up and opened the door to the balcony. Then, he sneaked downstairs. He wasn't going to worry too much about what he wore. He decided to wear what he always did. A pair of yellow pants and black tennis shoes. No shirt, as usual. He didn't really care what the guests at the inn would think. It was his style and he wasn't about to change it for strangers.

He headed to the kitchen to get some breakfast. He yelped when he entered. "What's going on?" he asked.

Mutoh's servants were in there, the whole kitchen ruined, food all over the walls and the floor, all over their clothes, and all over all of the counter. "Did you actually think that we'd let you eat breakfast this morning?" one of them snarled.

"So, hurry off, you dork. You're not getting _any _food all day, and plus, when you're done with all of Daddy's chores you get to clean this all up," another one said.

Grog figured that he would find some more food later on, anyway. He opened his mouth to reply, but a heavy tap on his shoulder made him turn around.

"No complaining. Or you'll have another black eye," said Mutoh.

_Or I might lose Anju, _Grog thought. He let out a short sigh and turned to his dad's workers. He have them the best fake smile that he could. "Thank you guys _so_ much for making this mess. I'll be more than happy to clean it up when I'm done with the rest of my jobs today," he said.

Mutoh gave him a hard pat on the back. "No, you've got twenty-five minutes until your nightmare begins; you can start cleaning _right now._"

_Nightmare? _Grog thought. _Does he know about my nightmare? _

Slowly, the troubled teenager walked toward the mess.

"See ya' later, loser!" one of Mutoh's workers said. He then tripped Grog.

Grog landed in a puddle of ice cold water and food.

"Watch where you're goin', Grog," snarled one of them.

"Yeah; you better get up. Don't want you to catch a cold," another one added.

"Come on, workers," Mutoh ordered. He never really could remember all their names. He turned to Grog. "Get on some clean clothes," he said. Then, he and the workers walked away.

Grog stood up. He looked around. All of the food was now inedible and the mess looked like it would take hours to fix. He only had less than thirty minutes, so, he started to clean. He was almost done and his pants and shoes were already dry, a while later, when he heard ten loud dings, one right after the other.

"Does _anybody _work here?" he heard a woman's voice ask. She had a rather country accent.

He quickly looked at the clock on the wall. It said 4:37AM. He dropped the mop he was holding and ran behind the front desk.

"Uh... I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to be so late," Grog apologized.

"You should be sorry. That was very unprofessional of you," the lady snapped.

And from there, it all went downhill.

People poured into the inn at about that time.

"Look, lady, if you'd gone through what I have in the past day and a half, you would have been late, too!"

"I don't have time for this! My name is Ms. Julie Jones! I demand to see your manager!"

"I'm sorry, he's on vacation at the moment; now, what-"

"Listen, young man, if I cannot see your manager in the next five seconds I will _call _him! My husband-"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he has decided to get a divorce with you because of how annoying you are!"

Tha lady gasped. "If you do not get some manners _this _instance, I'm leaving!"

"Well _that's _the best offer I've had in years!"

A little boy walked up to the counter. "Hey, mister, what happened to your eye?"

Grog rolled his eyes. "Don't you know that it's rude to ask questions like that?"

"Excuse me, sir? I'm Mr. Brown. I have a reservation."

Grog looked at the list and then handed him a key. "Room three."

That's when Ms. Julie Jones turned around and was about to leave.

"Uh, Ms. Jones? Were you going to make a reservation or did you already have one?"

"I made one over the phone. If you had been doing your job, you would already know that."

"Ma'am-"

"Really, mister, what happened to your eye?"

"Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I made a reservation. I'm Mr. Philips, I-"

"Room eight." Grog handed him the key. "Ms. Jones, I think you-"

"But mister, what about your eye?"

"I got punched in the face; all right?"

"Well, I can certainly understand why!" Ms. Jones snapped.

"Hi, sir. I'm Catherine Jonas and this is my husband Seth Jonas. We made a reservation."

"Room five." Grog paused. "Um, Ms. Jones, if you will-"

"I've come all the way from Death Mountain, my name is Tony! I'm a Goron!"

"You're in room two." Grog handed him a key.

"We're just checking out now," said a woman with blonde hair. She handed Grog her key. Then, she and the person with her left.

"Hi; I'm Mrs. Patterson. I'm here to make a reservation."

"Room one." Grog looked at Ms. Jones. "Ms. Jones, here is-"

"We have a reservation. We're the Clarkson family."

"Room seven."

"Why did someone punch you in the face?"

"Look, kid, go find your Mom! I'm busy right now!" Grog looked at Ms. Jones again. She was picking up her suitcases. "Ms. Jones, I have your room key right here."

"Throw it to me."

Grog threw the key through the air and it hit Ms. Jones right in the face.

The keys fell to the floor and Ms. Jones pointed to the big bruise over her left eyebrow. "_You! You're _the one who did this!" she yelled.

"No, ma'am, I didn't mean to-"

Before Grog could finish his sentence, Ms. Jones had picked up the keys and threw them straight toward him! It nearly hit him, but he moved just in time for the keys to hit Shiro, one of his dad's workers, right in the face. Grog gulped.

"Watch it, Grog!" Shiro yelled.

Grog opened his mouth, but no words came out. He backed up as close to the counter as he could. "Um... I..." He knew that he couldn't tell Shiro that it was Ms. Jones, but he also knew what would happen if he didn't.

"Don't know what to say, punk? Well I'll take the words right outta' your mouth!" Shiro snarled. He stormed over to Grog and towered over him.

Grog was tall for his age, but no match for any of his dad's workers.

"I'm gonna-" Shiro was interrupted by a loud crashing noise that nearly made the inn shake.

"Oh, man!" they heard someone yell. It was Tony, the Goron. He and his overly large suitcases had fallen down the stairs.

"Sir?" Grog called. "Are you okay?"

"Yes... but I need a little help, if you don't mind," Tony called back.

"It'll be no problem," Grog replied.

Shiro took a step back from Grog. "You're off the hook now, loser; but I'll catch up with you later."

Grog sighed in relief. He knew that most people would have been worried about getting beat up later on in the day; but instead, he was worried about Anju _and_ how he was going to get a two thousand pound Goron off of the stairs.

* * *

><p><strong> Thank you for reading! Review if you like it, please! =D<strong>

** The next chapter will be posted soon, but I'll have to finish writing it first! I'm close, though, I just have to think of the ending! ^_^**

** Also, if anyone who's been reading this has any ideas that they would like to see in upcoming chapters, PLEASE feel free to tell me! I'm so close to having writer's block and I'm not really sure what to write, so... tell me if you guys' (or girls') imaginative brains think of something they'd like me to write about for this story!**

** Please and thank you! ^_^ Thanks for reading. :)  
><strong>


	6. The Boy With The Purple Hair

**Well, here is another chapter! Yes, I know very well that it is at least a little longer than the other ones. But I couldn't help it. I had a little bit of writer's block while trying to finish this chapter. Plus, this chapter is what is going to help me write the other parts of this story. So yay! ^_^**

**Um, this chapter does change at least a little bit of the Majora's Mask game; so, I hope no one is annoyed at all by that.**

**Chaos Wielder: Wow. I'm glad that you thought the list was good, then. :) Thanks for offering to help with that! It honestly means a lot. I just have trouble with that, I guess, because I feel like I'm being mean to the characters. =P Lol. Yeah. It would be weird for him to wear a suit! xD Now, I just might write him wearing one for the heck of it. =P Mutoh's workers always seemed kind of careless to me. And yes, as you said, definitely scatter-brained. I just thought that since Grog said in OoT about everyone being worthless or something like that, I just pictured them being part of his problem. Not sure why, though. And oh, really? You liked that line? Wow. I thought it was kind of silly when I wrote it. Because I had to change it to that, because what I had there before that sounded worse. Lol. But either way, thanks for all the compliments! They mean the world to me! ^_^ Your entire review made my day VERY happy and I thank you SO much for it! You are truly awesome and again, my favorite reviewer ever! And okay. I'll look over the ending dialog and try to see how I can fix it.**

**Also, in one of your earlier reviews, you mentioned me putting a flash back for why Grog and Mutoh's workers have such a problem with each other, I'm thinking that the next chapter will be that flashback. It will make the ending of this one more clear and I think I have a few small ideas for it. ^_^ I'm still working on typing Grog's dream for chapter four, by the way! =D**

**Oh, and I almost forgot, Chaos Wielder, do you have an account on here? If so, you should definitely write a Legend of Zelda story! Just sayin'... ^^  
><strong>

** So, anyway, I hope everyone likes this chapter! Enjoy! ^_^  
><strong>

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><p>The day slowly went by for Grog. With the help of almost everyone in the inn, they managed to get Tony off of the stairs. The rest of the day behind the counter was mostly boring and quiet.<p>

At four o'clock in the evening, Anju walked up beside Grog, who had fallen asleep in a chair by the counter. "Grog," Anju said with a soft voice. She gently shook his arm.

He quickly sat up and turned to face her, worry in his eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Grog let out a sigh of relief. "N-nothing," he answered.

Anju smiled. "Okay," she said. "Anyway, you can go. It's my turn to run the counter."

"_Thank _you_ so _much!" Grog exclaimed. "That was the most irritating job I've ever had!"

Anju laughed. "All right. Well, now you don't have to do it for the rest of the day. You're free to do whatever you want to."

_That would be nice, but I can't, _Grog thought to himself. He nodded. "Okay, see you later," he said.

He headed upstairs and grabbed all of the dirty clothes out of every room and put them in a basket. Then, he went downstairs to Granny's room. "Hi, Granny," Grog said, walking into the room.

"Hello, Tortus," Granny said.

"I'm not-" Grog sighed. "Never mind."

"Do you want me to read you a story this morning?" Granny asked.

"No thanks, Granny. I'm busy right now," Grog answered.

"Okay, have fun!" Granny exclaimed.

Grog grabbed her dirty clothes off of the floor and headed out the door. A minute later, he was out of the inn.

It was colder than usual outside, but he still kept up a steady pase to the Laundry Pool. Once he was there, he dumped the basket of clothes into the water. He scrubbed them with a sponge for an hour until all of the clothes were finally clean.

He bent over to reach into the frozen water. Grabbing all of the laundry, he threw it all into the basket. Because of it being later in the evening, the wind was beginning to blow harder. It was only the beginning of Spring and yet it still felt like Winter.

In the quiet sound of the cool wind, Grog heard a door creak open. His head snapped up and he looked around in every direction.

Jumping to his feet, he said with a firm voice, "Who's there?"

He looked at the door down the sidewalk from where he was. It quickly closed. Moving fast, he ran across the bridge and to the door. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He sighed, crouched down, and stared at the cement underneath his feet. He wondered who it was at the door.

"Yo," he heard someone say.

He looked up just in time to see one of Mutoh's workers, Jiro, walking toward the laundry basket. "Just coming to check up on you. You're supposed to be finished. Are you?" Jiro asked.

Grog nodded.

"Okay; I'll see you later on today," Jiro said. Then, he left.

Grog took one last look at the door and then stood up and went to pick up the laundry basket. After picking it up, he headed to the inn.

When he walked inside, Anju was still standing at the counter, smiling.

"Hey," Grog said.

"Hi!" Anju replied. "It was _so _nice of you to pick up everyone's laundry and wash it! You're very thoughtful today!"

Grog gave her a half-smile. "Thanks," was all he said.

He walked into the kitchen and left the laundry basket beside the doorway. Then, he grabbed a dark blue bag off of the counter and headed upstairs.

After sneaking out from the balcony, Grog jumped and made his way to South Clock Town. Then, he went to the swamp.

After a long walk, he finally reached Romani Ranch. As soon as he entered, he looked to his left. There was a girl there, milking some cows.

"Um... excuse me?" Grog said, walking over to her.

She turned to him, her long, bright red hair put up into a long pony-tail. "Yes?" she replied.

"I'm here to pick up some milk and take it to the Milk Bar." Grog showed the girl his dark blue bag. "It's my job," he explained.

The girl looked confused. "I usually deliver the milk there," she said.

Grog shook his head. "They sent me," he replied.

The girl nodded and her face lit up. "I've already got some bottles in the stable," she explained. "Come on, I'll show you." She took him to the stable.

Once inside, they walked over to a stack of boxes. "I was gonna use the carriage to deliver these, but I guess since you've got a bag, I'll just take some out and give it to you." The girl quickly grabbed the bag out of Grog's hand and started to fill it with bottles. "I'm Cremia, by the way," she told him. "What's your name?"

"Grog," he answered.

"Oh!" Cremia exclaimed. "You and your family just moved into Clock Town; didn't you?"

Grog nodded. "How did you know?"

Cremia laughed. "Word travels fast around here. You'd better get used to it," she explained.

Grog shrugged.

"Well," Cremia continued. "Feel welcome to come _any _time. Romani and I always love for people to visit us."

"Romani?"

"Mm-hm. My little sister. Do you have any little brothers or sisters?"

"No. Only an older sister. Anju."

"Hmm," Cremia said, still smiling. "I would like to meet her someday. Is she nice?"

Grog gave her a half-smile. "Very. She's the nicest person you could meet."

Cremia put a lot of bottles into his bag and handed it to him. "Well, you should bring her by sometime! Anyway, it was nice to meet you and I hope to see you again soon!" Cremia exclaimed.

Grog nodded. "Hope to see you soon, too," he said.

Then, he headed out of Romani Ranch. Once he was on Milk Road, he began to speed up a little bit. Secretly, he wanted to stay in Romani Ranch, because it was so peaceful there, but he also knew that he had unfinished work to do. After a while of walking, the bag full of bottles of milk was getting heavier and heavier. In fact, so heavy that Grog actually dropped it on the ground. Glass broke inside the bag and milk soaked the bag and his shoes.

"Ugh!" he yelled as loud as he could.

He sat down beside a sign and held his head in his hands, just staring at the wet bag.

That's when he heard, "Grog! Grog! Wait!"

He looked up just in time to see Cremia running over to him. "I forgot to tell you," she said when she reached him. She was panting from the long run. "Your mom came by yesterday. She asked us if we would keep your family's cuccos in our cucco shack. We said yes. So, that means _your _cucco... Co-co..." Cremia trailed off, trying to remember the name of the cucco.

Grog's face lit up and he stood up as fast as he could. "Cojiro?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah! Cojiro! He is there, too. If you ever want to see 'im come by!" Cremia said with a smile.

Grog nodded. "Thanks."

"You can come see him now if you wanna!" Cremia exclaimed.

Grog wanted to, but he knew that by not doing his jobs, Anju was at risk. He shook his head. "Can't," he said.

"Why not?" Cremia asked.

"I've got a lot of work to do," Grog explained, motioning to the bag full of broken glass and milk.

Cremia looked sad. "Oh! I should've remembered that bottles are too heavy to carry in a bag! It was my fault, I'm sorry."

Grog shrugged. "It's okay," he said.

"Let me go get something different to put the bottles in. I'll get some new bottles, too. I'll be back; just wait here," she said. And with that, she grabbed the bag and headed back to the ranch. Grog sighed and tried not to worry about what time it was.

Three minutes later, Cremia returned riding a horse who was pulling a carriage behind it. She came to a stop beside Grog. "Hop in the carriage, but be careful of the milk," she told him with a wink.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Clock Town. To deliver the milk," she explained, making a "duh" expression on her face.

Grog shook his head. "I've already told you, it's _my _job to deliver the milk," he said.

"And I've already told _you _to get in the carriage. Like my grandpa always said, just accept a gift when someone gives it to you; don't try to push it away," she replied.

Grog sighed, hating how he needed to listen to that last sentence. Finally, he got into the carriage and they rode into Clock Town.

After helping Grog get all of the milk inside the milk bar, Cremia left Clock Town and headed to the ranch.

Grog was thankful for her help and thankful that the clock had just struck 5:30pm. He walked out of the milk bar and jumped when Sabooro, another one of his dad's workers, came up beside him and grabbed his right shoulder. He let out a sigh of relief when he found out it was Sabooro and leaned up against the the green door of the milk bar.

"Finished just in time, I see," said Sabooro.

Grog nodded.

"Good job."

Grog was surprised, but didn't show it. That was the nicest thing any of the workers had ever told him before.

Then, without saying another word, Sabooro walked away.

Grog was speechless, but didn't waste any time. He had another job to do.

He rushed to the mayor's office and congratulated himself for the good timing he'd made.

When he walked inside, a woman with green hair at a desk greeted him. "Hi," she said sweetly. "Do you have some business you'd like to take care of today?"

He nearly groaned, but caught himself before he did. He absolutely _hated _talking business. To him, things were a lot simpler when no one was talking about any kind of business. But he knew he had to answer, so, he said, "Yes ma'am. I'm here to speak with the mayor."

"Mayor Dotour's office is to your left and Madame Aroma's room is on your right," the woman explained.

"May I speak with them both?" he asked.

"Of course. Mayor Dotour's office is on your left and Madame Aroma's room is on your right," the woman answered.

Grog was confused. "I kn-know, but... I meant talk to them both at the _same _time," he explained.

"Mayor Dotour _and _Madame Aroma? At the same time?" the woman asked.

"Yes," he said slowly.

"We cannot arrange that," the woman told him.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because Mayor Dotour's office is on your left - and he's in his office - and Madame Aroma's room is on your right - she's in there - so therefore, you can't be in two different places at once."

"Look, I know you think it's funny to mess with me since I'm just a stupid teenager and all, but I don't have time for this. So please just tell them I'm here to talk to them," he replied calmly.

The woman smiled. "Sure," she said. "Mayor Dotour's office is on your left and Madame Aroma's room is on your right. Which one do you want me to tell first?"

"Ugh!" Grog yelled, his patience finally gone. "Just get your _stupid butt _in one of those rooms and tell who_ever _you want that I'm here!"

The woman sighed and went into Madame Aroma's room.

Grog looked around. He hadn't noticed the guard standing near a tall plant across from the mayor's door. The guard made a disgusted face as he looked at Grog's appearance. Then, he glared at Grog meanly.

Grog quickly looked away. Although, people always made those kinds of faces at him, he assumed that he was just making that face because of his black eye. Not many grown-ups around there liked kids fighting. The guard probably assumed that Grog been in a fight or something.

A minute later, Madame Aroma and the lady who ran the counter came out of the room. "Come on," Madame Aroma ordered, taking Grog's hand and walking him into Mayor Dotour's office.

Madame Aroma sat down in a chair in front of the mayor's desk and motioned for Grog to sit down.

Grog hesitantly sat down in a chair a few feet to the right of Madame Aroma's. She studied him for a second and then finally said, "The receptionist told me that you need to talk to my husband and I. Something about your fathers... building business? Am I correct?"

Grog nodded.

"Please state your name, where you are from, who sent you, and your business here," Mayor Dotour ordered.

Grog looked from the mayor to Madame Aroma and then back. "My name is Grog. My father's name is Mutoh. I live in the Stock Pot Inn with my mother, father, sister, grandma, and some of my dad's servants. My dad sent me here to talk to you two about building a watchtower for the Carnival of Time. He has servants who are willing to help him do it," he explained. "They can have it done, with your permission, of course, by the night of the Carnival of Time."

Mayor Dotour nodded, thinking. "How long has your father and his 'servants' been in the building business?" he asked.

"Uh... about... seven years, sir," Grog answered with a slight nod of his head.

Madame Aroma raised her eyebrows. "That's quite a while."

"Not to be rude, son, but why did you father send _you _here when he could very well handle his _own _affairs?" Mayor Dotour asked.

Grog shrugged, staring at a picture of a field on the wall to his right. "He was busy," he answered.

Mayor Dotour clasped his hands together and gave Grog a stern look. "I'd like to have a talk with your father about his watchtower. Please tell him to come here tomorrow and we'll talk to him, then," he said.

Grog immediately shook his head. "That won't be possible. He told me to handle it for him," he explained.

"He may have; but for a job... or a new business, he'll need to fill out a resume. That's something that only _he _can do," Mayor Dotour replied.

Grog thought. He knew that the mayor was right about Mutoh needing to fill out his own resume, but he also knew that he needed to get everything his dad asked him to do, done.

About an hour and a half later, Grog had finally gotten the mayor and his wife to agree to let him fill out his dad's resume. He filled it out carefully and to the best of his understanding.

Soon enough, though, it was time for him to go. He quickly thanked the mayor and Madame Aroma after giving them his dad's resume.

"Come back tomorrow and we'll tell you whether or not if your father and his carpenters are fit for the job," Mayor Dotour said.

Grog nodded and left.

He then headed to West Clock Town where he would start Mutoh a bank account.

After some haggling with the dude at the bank, they finally came to an agreement that the banker would let Grog start Mutoh a bank account only if the banker got five percent of every thing Mutoh would put in his bank account and that Mutoh would repair the banker's house if it ever needed it.

Grog was fine with all of that. He wasn't planning on telling his dad about it, anyway.

The dark kitchen was silent. The only thing anyone could hear was the clock ticking. It was actually seemed pretty calm.

Grog wasn't, though, as he leaped over the front desk and ran into the kitchen. He dropped the bag of candy that Mutoh had wanted on to the counter and worriedly glanced at the clock. It had just struck 12 A.M.

He quickly let out a sigh of relief and thanked God that the day was over now. He leaned against the counter slowly. _Finally._ It had been the longest day of his life.

He was just about to leave the room when Shiro walked in.

"Finished with your chores?" he asked.

Grog nodded silently.

Shiro narrowed his eyes at the pale teen. "...What'cha being so quiet for, Grog?"

Grog shrugged, looking passive.

"Are you hiding something from me?" asked Shiro suspiciously.

"No." Grog's calm voice showed no sign of fear. His back was still to the counter. His eyes flicked in the direction of the doorway. He wondered how long it would take him to run out of the room.

"What's that on the counter behind your back?" Shiro questioned, trying to see behind Grog.

Grog turned around to look. He really didn't know that there was any thing there in the first place. He easily spotted Shiro's favorite knife on the counter. He was confused at how it had gotten there without him even paying attention to it.

Shiro saw the knife, too, and glared furiously at Grog. "What were you doin' with my knife? And why did you steal it?" he asked, fuming.

Grog thought only for a second about answering, but then realized that Shiro wasn't the type to talk it through.

Shiro balled his hands tightly into fists and started toward Grog.

Grog took off running, pushing past Shiro and quickly darting out of the inn.

Despite how tired he had been earlier, he was wide awake now as he ran through East Clock Town.

He heard Shiro come out of the inn and sped up his pace. He felt lucky that he was a good runner. That was the main thing he was good at. And it sure came in handy at times like this.

He spotted some little kid standing near an alley by the mayor's office. He tried to run to the alley, but the kid wouldn't let him. Why did those kids always show up at the worst times?

Grog scanned the area around him. There was really no safe place to run to. He skidded to a stop by the door of the mayor's building. He quickly began to pound his fist on the door as loud as he could. He needed someone to catch Shiro before any thing bad happened.

He could still hear Shiro getting closer and he prayed that Mayor Dotour would hurry up and answer the door.

He was just about to look over his shoulder for Shiro when he felt himself being smashed and pinned against the building from behind.

"Bet you're sorry you stole my knife now; aren't you?" whispered Shiro angrily.

Grog smirked. "Not really," he muttered, loud enough for Shiro to hear him.

Shiro mashed him harder against into the building, making him wince. "Shut up."

The doorknob on the door to the mayor's building rattled a little before slowly opening. A teenager with purple hair stood in the doorway, wiping his eyes tiredly.

Grog studied him. The boy was familiar. Someone he had met a long time ago. "Kafei?"

Despite the fact that the door was open, Shiro hadn't noticed the person standing there. "What did you just call me, punk?" he asked, pushing Grog harder against the building.

Grog tried to squirm away from Shiro, but couldn't.

The purple headed teenager cautiously stepped out of the shadows of the doorway. He stayed silent, but carefully studied Grog and Shiro.

Grog was more than ready to get out of there. He managed to break free of Shiro's grasp and turn to face him.

Shiro seemed somewhat surprised by this and so was easily caught off guard when Grog threw a punch at his face.

Grog's fist connected with Shiro's cheekbone and even he was surprised by the impact.

Shiro could feel a large bruise forming on his cheek. He was now boiling over with anger. "I can't believe you did that," he said, voice dangerously low. He punched Grog, hard, in the stomach.

Grog doubled over slowly and it then when the boy with the purple hair decided to step in.

"Get out of here," he ordered Shiro calmly. "Now."

"Why should I?" asked Shiro.

"Because my dad is mayor of this town and he knows a lot of people in a lot of places. I can get you sent back to Hyrule in minutes, jobless and without someone to provide for you."

Shiro glared at him before turning and angrily storming away.

The purple haired boy crouched down next to Grog and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Grog slowly looked up at the boy. It truly was Kafei. It really was the boy he'd known so many years ago. He was suddenly angry. _Very _angry.

"Are you okay?" Kafei asked him softly.

"I'm fine," Grog answered sourly, shrugging Kafei's hand off his shoulder slowly standing up.

Kafei stood also, smiling. "Wow. I seriously never thought I would see you again."

Grog shot him a frustrated look.

"How long has been? Four years?"

"Probably."

"Oh. Hey. How's Anju been doing?"

"She's fine."

"Where do you guys live? I'd like to go visit her sometime."

"Look," Grog began, an edge to his voice. "Just stop with all the questions; okay? We don't need you around any more. _Anju _doesn't _need _you around any more. I don't _want _you around. Got that?" He paused before continuing. "We don't need your help and we _definitely _don't need you to feel 'sorry' for us any more. So, stay out of our lives, mind your own business, and we'll all get along just fine."

And with that, the angered teenager walked back in the direction of the inn, leaving a sad, tired, and confused Kafei behind.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Review if you like it, please! =D Again, if anyone has any ideas of what they'd like to see in later chapters, please let me know! =D<strong>


	7. Flashback

**Another chapter! =D**

**The flashback chapter, if you haven't already noticed the title! =P Last night when I was thinking about this chapter, I thought that it had turned out kind of badly. But today (thanks to Jesus) I did some reading over it, editing, and finishing the chapter and I think we're good to go! ^_^ As a matter of fact, this chapter, being the flashback one, let me be able to start on the eighth one easily as well! =D**

** I think it does change some of the Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask games.**

** Now, to answer the amazing reviewers:**

**Coli Chibi: I know. He does need some friends! Maybe he'll get some soon? Thanks so much for the review. =)**

**Chaos Wielder: Awesome! Oh! And great idea! ^_^ You, with it being your idea and all, should probably write that as a one shot and publish it on here. Unless you meant that you wanted me to write it into this story. Lol. I suppose I'm kind of confused. =P Anywho. Thank you. That rhymed. xD And someday isn't soon enough! Lol. You said it yourself that there isn't enough stories about Grog out there. And so far, I've only seen maybe two other fan fictions about him on here! Join the Grog club! Publish your story! For me? Lol. ^_^**

**Really? Thanks. :) And yes. I could definitely see how they could be good friends. They'll probably turn out to be. =D I think that's the way my town is as well. Thanks. And I know. The mayor's receptionist was always kind of weird to me, too. I think I added that little scene with her in there, because of how, when playing the game, every time you talk to her, all she says is which rooms the mayor and his wife are in. Which, she does say something else when you're wearing the Kafei mask, but that's another story... -_- Yes, people can. =P Oh. And I changed the part about Grog's age. I changed it because I realized that everyone will have a different view on how old Grog is and I wouldn't want me saying he's fourteen to ruin anyone's outlook on him. I hope that made sense. Also, I edited a few other mistakes in the earlier chapters and I added the dream in chapter four. ^_^**

**Something bad, huh? Well... you'll see. ;) Oh. And just for the record, your reviews are always so helpful! ^_^ I mean, it doesn't just help me with THIS fan fiction, it will help me edit novels and other stories. It's amazing. And it means the world to me. Thank you. :) Oh. And lol. I didn't even remember that she'd called Anju Tortus in the first chapter when I'd written that. And yes. I shall try to do better with Granny's character and typos. =D As for Kafei... well, again, you'll find out. ;)**

** Now, this author's note thing as been long enough! =P Time for the story! Enjoy, everyone! ^_^**

* * *

><p><em>"Anju! I caught one!" exclaimed the young boy. He grinned, proud of himself.<em>

_"Great job!" the blue eyed girl told him._

_The excited eight year old raced as fast as he could across the yard, holding a cucco high above his head. "Where do you want me to put him?"_

_"In the pen is fine. We don't want him to go running off again." She motioned to the gate and smiled. Despite the fact that she knew that the cuccos would just fly out again, she was glad that her brother had such enthusiasm on this bright evening in Kakariko Village._

_The little boy was just about to toss the cucco into the pen when he suddenly felt something sharp hit his small fingers. "Ouch!" he cried, jerking his hands away and dropping the cucco to the ground where it flapped its wings happily._

_Anju sighed, distressed. She walked over to her brother. She crouched down a little bit to be at his level. "What happened? Let me see."_

_Her brother shook his head and held his hands close to his chest. "No."_

_"Grog, I have to make sure you're okay. What happened?"_

_"That stupid cucco bit my hand."_

_"Is it bleeding?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"Well, then, let me see. Maybe I can get some of Granny's medicine to help you feel better."_

_Grog made a face at the sound of his grandmother. He had never really liked her much. She was old and not very friendly at all. He looked up at Anju and slowly held out his right hand for her to see._

_Anju smiled at him and examined his hand. "It's only bleeding a little. You should just put a band aid on it and it should get better in no time."_

_Grog looked hopeful. "Really?"_

_Anju nodded. "Of course." She was only a pre-teen, but she seemed older. She loved her little brother and her cuccos more than any thing and she was almost always happy. She grinned at her brother as he ran off after the cucco and rolled her eyes at the fact he hadn't gone to get a band aid._

_He was in a great mood that day. She really didn't know anyone that wasn't. It was a perfect day in the village. People were outside, talking to each other, walking, enjoying their time out in the sun._

_The sun was really well-needed after three days of nothing but rain. But everyone had already forgotten about their days stuck inside. Now, all they cared about was fresh air and sunshine._

_Anju had been surprised at how even Grog had seemed a little happier. She watched as the boy ran widly around the yard, chasing after what he usually referred to as "the stupid cucco." That one had never liked him in the first place._

_She turned around to watch the three cuccos that were already in the pen. At least they seemed to be behaving that day. She glared at two of them as they started angrily pecking at each other. "Haruto! Kenta! Stop that!"_

_The annoyed birds ignored her and kept pecking each other._

_A minute later, one of them was finally irritated enough to fly out of the pen._

_Anju looked frustrated as she glanced over at Grog. He was still chasing Stupid Cucco._

_"Looking for something?" someone asked from behind her._

_"What?" Anju turned around and smiled when she saw that it was Kafei, her best friend. He was holding Kenta, the cucco who had flown away._

_"Thank goodness," she said in relief._

_He grinned at her and placed the cucco back in the pen. "Having a rough day?" he asked._

_"Kind of." She motioned to Grog. "But luckily he's been helping me out today."_

_Kafei nodded and sat down on the soft grass, putting his elbows on his knees while watching the younger boy run frustratedly around the yard._

_Anju glanced down at him as he laughed at the sight of Grog. "It's really not funny, you know," she told him, even though she had a half smile on her face. "You could at least be out there helping him."_

_"And miss this show? No way."_

_Anju rolled her eyes and sat down next to him. "My little brother chasing cuccos is not a show." She looked over at Grog and grinned. "But it is entertaining."_

_They watched happily as Grog finally got a hold of Stupid Cucco and brought him back to the pen. He quickly tossed the animal into the pen. "That's what you get!" he yelled to the cucco angrily._

_"Well, someone's being violent," muttered Kafei._

_Grog heard him and turned away from the cuccos. "But he bit me! Twice!"_

_"But did he yell at you?"_

_"...No..."_

_"Then, don't yell at him. Just bite him back and get on with your day."_

_Anju elbowed Kafei in the ribs while laughing._

_Grog looked very confused as he went to sit down on the other side of Kafei. "Why don't you go bite him since it's such a great idea?" He smiled after asking the question, to let Kafei know he was only joking._

_Kafei grinned at him; then, changed the subject. "So, what do you guys want to do today?"_

_"Probably just this," Anju answered. "That's all we have planned, anyway."_

_Kafei looked incredulous. "Come on. We need to do something at least a little fun."_

_"Well, maybe we could-"_

_Anju was cut off by Mutoh who was over at the front of their house. He wasn't even talking to them, but his voice was loud enough for them to hear. "Well, now that you've all seen inside, you can just go around the house and looked at the yard. After that, I'll show you where we'll start building," he had been saying._

Grog nearly smiled at the memory as he laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. He wondered why everything was different back then and he wondered why it had all changed so fast. Sure, Anju had seemed so happy back then, and that hadn't changed. But what about everything else? What about himself? What about his dad actually appreciating those servants? What about Kafei?

Grog rolled over on to his side and glanced at Anju who was across the room. She was sleeping peacefully. He was glad for that. He closed his eyes, deciding to at least finish thinking of that good and bad memory since he had already started to.

_Anju and Grog exchanged a confused look. Who was there and who in the world could it be that was making their dad sound so nice and almost... polite?_

_The two of them quickly stood up and Kafei did the same. "Did Mom say anything about anyone coming over today?" asked Anju._

_Grog shook his head. "No."_

_The three of them watched as large shadows approached in front of four large people. They were tall. Their faces were rough. Although, their bodies seemed muscular and strong. They all looked very similar to each other. They were not familiar to any of the three smaller kids who stood near the cucco pen._

_"Who are you guys?" asked one of the taller guys. The name tag on his shirt read: "Ichiro."_

_"We should be asking you the same thing." Kafei looked skeptical as he studied the four boys._

_Ichiro motioned to the others. "From your left, that's Sabooro, Jiro, and Shiro. I'm Ichiro."_

_"Ah," Kafei said, still studying the four of them._

_"So, who are you guys?" Sabooro asked._

_Anju was the one to answer. "I'm Anju. That's my brother, Grog, and my friend, Kafei." She stepped up beside Kafei. "So, what are you guys here for?"_

_"We're the new carpenters. We're going to work for your dad."_

_"Aren't you guys a litte young to be working?" Kafei asked, noticing how the boys seemed to be around the age himself and Anju._

_"Well, in a way, yes. But there's no rule around here sayin' we can't. So, we are."_

_The four older boys began walking around the house, looking at the yard._

_As Ichiro, Jiro, and Sabooro continued walking the perimeter, Shiro walked back over to the other three kids._

_It was awkward for all of them, not knowing Shiro very well and therefore not knowing what to say._

_"Um... so, my father must be very glad to have you guys working for him now. He's been telling our mother that he has needed someone to help him with work," Anju said._

_Shiro nodded slowly. "Well, we needed a job. So... it worked out." He leaned against the cucco pen and studied Anju._

_Grog had been quiet the whole time, he had just met those workers and he already didn't trust them. He shifted nervously as he waited to see what Shiro was about to say._

_"So, Anju, do you have a boyfriend or what?" Shiro asked._

_Kafei's eyes widened in anger. He wasn't Anju's boyfriend; no matter how anyone looked at it, he wasn't. He knew that. But jealousy and anger flooded through him like a rain storm at Shiro even asking Anju that. He kept his mouth shut tightly, though, waiting to see what Anju would do._

_Grog watched Shiro carefully. He was being so still and quiet that no one really even noticed he was still standing there. He wondered why Shiro had asked such a question. It was weird timing and definitely not something his sister got asked often._

_Anju was caught off guard. "Uh... w-what?" she stuttered, not sure why he'd even asked that. She glanced at Grog and Kafei, confused. She turned back to Shiro. "... No," she answered slowly. Then came her cautious, "Why?"_

_Shiro shrugged. "Just wondering," he said. _

_Grog and Kafei eyed him suspiciously. Anju looked confused._

_"Because you look like my kind of girl," Shiro added._

_Anju was taken aback. All she could do was stare at Shiro._

_Grog's small hands slowly balled into fists. He was just about ready to knock Shiro's two front teeth out. He might have been young, but he wasn't the kind to go about things very nicely. Unless Anju wanted him to. But she still didn't seem to acknowledge that he was still standing there. He wished Kafei would say something and then the two of them could beat up Shiro together for flirting with Anju. He glanced at Kafei. He would never admit it, but he had always looked up to the older boy. Kafei had always been kind of like a brother to him._

_Kafei let out a furious huff before storming away from everyone else and heading back to his own house._

_Shiro laughed dryly before walking off to go find his friends._

_Grog un-balled his fists as Anju turned to him. _

_"Why did Kafei leave?" she asked him._

_He shrugged, angrily walking away as well._

_Anju shook her head at her younger brother, wondering how he could be happy one minute and furious the next. She wondered if he had a reason for being that way._

_Nearly an hour later, Jiro, Sabooro, Shiro, and Ichiro were getting all their supplies together to build a new building near Mutoh's house._

_Grog was sitting inside the house, staring out the window. It would be getting dark very soon. He was watching Mutoh's new "workers." They didn't look like they were doing much work to him. They were standing around, yelling at each other, for the most part. He'd over heard Mutoh mention something about them starting the building the next day and that they would only be putting their supplies where they need to go that evening._

_But still... Grog couldn't help but think that even such a simple job as that was far too complicated for those workers._

_He rolled his eyes and walked away from the window. He was still angry about Shiro flirting with Anju. He didn't want strangers he didn't trust to like his older sister. He wanted someone nice, like Kafei, to be Anju's boyfriend._

_Grog remembered how Anju had once told him about a promise she and Kafei had made when they were little. A promise that they'd get married someday. At first, Grog had thought that they really would grow up and get married. But after a while, Kafei and Anju had began to act more like friends. They enjoyed each others' company, of course, but they never acted like they would want to get married someday._

_Grog was upset about that. Them not liking each other would mean that Grog wasn't assured that Anju would have a nice guy to be with. His eight year old mind had always wondered about that._

_He, just like his sister, seemed older than he was. That's what made him over think things so much. But he couldn't help it. It was just the way he was._

_He finally decided that he would go and talk to Shiro. To make it clear that Anju would not be interested in someone so... seemingly impolite. He strode outside into the warm air of the beautiful day. He walked over to Shiro and the other guys._

_"Hey," he said, looking up at them._

_"What do ya know, guys? He really can talk," Ichiro said._

_The younger boy was confused._

_Sabooro raised his eyebrows. "You haven't said more than one word since we got here."_

_Grog shrugged. "Well... I just need to talk to Shiro."_

_Shiro glared down at Grog. He wasn't intentionally glaring. That was just his face. "What do you want, kid?"_

_Jiro, Ichiro, and Sabooro walked a few feet away to let Grog and Shiro talk._

_"You can't date my sister," said the eight year old bluntly._

_"And just why not?"_

_"She's way out of your league."_

_Shiro narrowed his eyes. "... What do you mean?"_

_Grog sighed and shrugged. He'd always liked to think that he was an expert at stuff like this, seeing as he'd had his very first crush only a few months ago. Despite his life at home, he was a happy child. He just stayed out of his dad's way and ignored his grandmother. Anju was the only one he really cared about and that made him happy. _

_"Well," he started. "You see, you're just not her type. I don't think she likes guys like you. She likes nice guys. Like Kafei."_

_Of course, the eight year old had no clue that that was only the beginning of the trouble he was in for. The trouble that would stay with him for years._

_"Are you sayin' I'm not nice?" asked Shiro angrily._

_Grog shook his head, looking almost innocent. "No. I'm just saying that you should date someone... more like... her." He pointed in a random direction at an old woman with ragged clothes that he had never met before._

_Shiro's eyes widened and then he glared at Grog. "You think this is funny?"_

_Grog shrugged. He figured that he couldn't make the situation any better now. "I don't know... maybe."_

_"Look, kid, I'll date your sister if I want and the next time I ever hear any thing come out of your mouth, you'll be sorry you can even talk."_

_Grog was suddenly worried and a little scared. "But-"_

The pale teenager opened his eyes and tried think about something else. That day had been terrible. The day when the nightmare of his life had began. He'd hated those workers with a passion from then on out. He glanced at Anju. She had always thought that it was her fault that the workers had began to treat him so badly. But he knew it wasn't. And she did, too, deep down inside.

He wondered what his life would have been like if the workers hadn't ever shown up.

Mutoh had never really been nice to him in the first place, but it seemed to Grog that Mutoh had gotten worse since the workers had shown up. In fact, Mutoh _and_ his four workers had gotten worse over the years.

Grog let out a quiet sigh. He wondered why all these memories were flooding through his brain now. He had tried to forget about them for years; but they always came back.

He felt a pang of sadness in his heart as he thought about how upset Anju had been after Grog and the workers had had their first ever fight.

_It had been quite a while since the sun had set. It was very dark outside. The eight year old, after his fight with Shiro, had wandered around the village for a while, dreading going home._

_He had listened to an owl hooting somewhere far away. He had even cried a little. Although, he would never admit it out loud. He had debated on going over to Kafei's, but decided against it and went home instead._

_He had a lot of bruises and a huge purplish bruise on his left cheekbone._

_He slowly walked into the house that he shared with his family, praying that Anju wouldn't make a big deal out of it._

_Anju was sitting at the kitchen table when he walked in. "Grog!" She quickly stood up and raced over to him. "What happened?"_

_"Nothing."_

_"That's a lie! What happened?" She was clearly concerned._

_"It's nothing. I promise."_

_"It doesn't look like nothing! Tell me!"_

_"I just got in a fight, that's all."_

_Anju fought back tears as she made him drink Granny's medicene to make him feel better._

_After cleaning mud off of him, she made him go to bed._

_She was oblivious to the fact that he was watching her pace around the living room once he was upstairs. She was more worried than she'd ever been before in her life._

_She still didn't know who had hurt him so badly; but she was determined that she'd find out soon enough. And she had remind herself for the rest of the night that revenge wasn't the answer._

Grog sighed. At least all that was over with. He hated feeling helpless like he had that night. Of course, a few days later, he had finally told Anju that it was Shiro and the workers who had hurt him. But she didn't do any thing about it. She really didn't know what to do. Grog knew that.

So, he occasionally got into more fights after that, and more and more as the months went by.

After a while, he had grown to be tougher. He had also grown to hating most of his family and the workers.

He realized that it got worse as time went on and that he had no friends.

_Well, _he thought. _Kafei used to be my friend._

He rolled over to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling again. Kafei. Kafei was such a jerk. To him. To his family. To Anju.

Grog's anger began to boil just thinking about it.

_Anju was sixteen. A "beautiful young woman" as some of their neighbors liked to call her. She was at the happiest point of her life at that time. Her father and grandmother were busy working. Her mother was in a good mood. Grog had seemed to be getting into less fights over the past week. She had the boyfriend of her dreams. And she'd even gotten a couple inches taller._

_Her brother had noticed her brighter smile. He had noticed that sparkle in her eyes every time she talked about Kafei._

_He'd never admit it, but he was glad she was with Kafei. If it made her as happy as she was all the time, he wanted her to be with Kafei forever._

_Her life seemed almost like a fairytale._

_But her perfect fairytale was ruined one sunny evening._

_Grog studied her carefully as she left to go to Kafei's house. She had that same sparkle in her eyes that she'd had for about a month now. She smiled as she waved good-bye to her brother and headed out the door._

_She walked to Kafei's house. He had said that he wanted to meet her and talk to her about something. Supposedly something important._

_"Come on, Anju, we really need to talk."_

_The red head nodded as she took a seat at the kitchen table next to her boyfriend. "What do you want to talk about?"_

_"Our relationship. I... just don't think that us as a couple is a good thing right now. My family and I don't have time to spend with you right now. My uncle has just moved away from where he was living and he has asked my father if he would take his place as mayor of the town. We have a lot to work out right now and my father has just asked me to get a job."_

_Anju looked devastated._

_"It's nothing personal, Anju. I promise. It's just I can't spend individual time with you right now and you deserve someone who can."_

_Anju shook her head, tears beginning to form in the corners of her blue eyes. "But Kafei... we were meant to be together."_

_"That may be so, but right now, we can't afford to be together. I'm sorry."_

_Anju sniffed and wiped a few tears from her eyes._

_Kafei reached out and held her hand. "We can still be friends, though. Is that okay?"_

_Anju nodded and didn't say a word._

_That night, she came home crying. She told Grog everything when he had asked what was wrong. He was angry at Kafei, but figured he'd had his reasons._

_That was just the start of Grog's anger, though._

_He had no idea that night that it would grow stronger._

_Eventually, Anju found out that Kafei soon had another girlfriend. She was more than upset and cried about it for a couple of days._

_Of course, Grog found out by someone else. Anju hadn't told him._

_He stormed over to Kafei's house as soon as he found out. He had been pounding on the door for about a minute when Kafei finally answered it._

_"You're a jerk; you know that?"_

_Kafei was confused. "What are you talking about?"_

_"Lying to my sister. Breaking up with her. You don't care about anyone but yourself!"_

_"You know that isn't true, Grog. I've helped you and your family out millions of times."_

_"Why are you keeping count? Did you think we should repay you one day? Do you think that Anju should just get over you breaking up with her and lying to her? And would that be the way we paid you back? For her to forget any of it ever happened?" Grog angrily stepped closer to Kafei, staring right into the other boy's eyes, with nothing put hatred written on his face._

_Kafei was unmoved."I never said that."_

_"But that's what you want, isn't it? For her to forget and forgive you."_

_Kafei sighed and looked away. "Why are you even here, Grog?"_

_"Don't ask me why I'm here." The pale teenager's voice cut through the air like sharp ice. He could feel himself growing angrier by the second. "You know why I'm here! You had no right to hurt my sister!"_

_"I didn't hurt your sister!"_

_"Yes, you did! Emotionally! And you better feel really sorry for doing it!"_

_"What is your real point in coming here? What are you trying to say?"_

_Grog could no longer hide his anger. He shoved Kafei as hard as he could, making the older boy stumble backward and fall onto the floor. "You know what you did was wrong and you don't even care! You're a jerk!"_

_Kafei said nothing, he was too surprised. He wondered if this was even the same quiet, secretive boy he had met so many years ago._

_"Stay. Away. From. Anju."_

_"What? Why?"_

_"Stay away from our family and don't bother us. We don't need your charity anymore."_

_Kafei didn't bother to get up as he watched Grog storm away. He was confused and angry and sad all at the same time. He didn't know what to do._

_Kafei said nothing to Grog or his family for a couple of months._

_But it was a Saturday evening when Kafei walked past Grog and Shiro, who were once again fighting._

_It was clear that Grog was losing and was having a hard time holding his own._

_So, Kafei stepped in. "Leave him alone," he ordered._

_"And what will you do if I don't?"_

_"This." Kafei punched Shiro in the face harder than he'd ever punched anyone before._

_Shiro looked angry and a little surprised. He was about to throw a punch at Kafei when Mutoh walked up._

_"Time for dinner, Shiro. Grog." He gave Grog a short glare before turning with Shiro and going back to the house._

_Grog just stood there, glaring at Kafei as it began to rain outside._

_"It's clear that you guys need help," said the purple headed boy with a soft voice._

_Grog immediately shook his head. "We don't," he replied firmly through clenched teeth._

_"Don't lie."_

_"I'm not. We're fine."_

_"Why are you doing this?"_

_"What?"_

_"Pretending."_

_"I'm not pretending! We don't need you to be concerned about us! We're fine."_

_"That's not what Anju said."_

_"Why do you even care what Anju said? It doesn't matter anymore! You broke up with her!"_

_Kafei gave Grog a rueful look. "I was just about to go talk to her. I... well, I realized I was wrong in breaking up with her. I shouldn't have. I really love her."_

_Grog rolled his eyes. "Oh. Yeah, right," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice._

_"I honestly do, Grog. You have no idea how much I care about your sister."_

Grog opened his eyes, still angry. The worst part about the whole thing was that Anju had actually believed Kafei when he told her that. She really thought that he cared. She had gotten back together with Kafei after that. Not too long afterward, though, Kafei moved, because his father was chosen to be mayor of some far away town. Which, was apparently Clock Town.

Grog sighed. All of this was terrible. He hated Kafei now, too. Kafei was the reason his sister had been sad for so long. Kafei had broken her heart. And Kafei was selfish.

Grog wondered why Kafei had been so helpful in the first place.

He sighed, his heart pounding because of the anger and the memories. He silently prayed that Anju wouldn't see Kafei again. That would be terrible. It would be another whole chapter of watching his sister get her heart broken. He wasn't sure if he could handle that.

Finally, he decided to let it go and get some sleep. He would worry more about it tomorrow, after he'd at least rested.

After glancing at his family around the room and wondering what the next day would hold for him, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope y'all enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Review if you liked it, please! ^_^<strong>


	8. Surprises

**Another chapter! *gasps***

**I'm very thankful that I got this chapter finished today. It was kind of hard to write, and I've been really busy lately, but I wrote it! =D**

**Just to let y'all know, I might be really busy these next couple of weeks that are coming up, because I have a lot going on right now; so, I'm not sure if I'll be able to write a lot. But I'll try! Especially because I can't wait until I get to write the next chapter!**

**Also, thank you all for all the reviews and everything! It means a lot to me! Y'all are awesome! ^_^  
><strong>

**Anyway, this chapter changes a little bit of the Majora's Mask game, I think.**

**Now, to reply to a review:**

**Chaos Wielder: =) Oh. I know it wasn't anything majorly important, but I still think that by putting a specific age, I could _possibly _ruin someone's view of him. And besides, I'm torn between a couple of ages, anyway. Lol. Haha. And you're welcome. =D**

** Lol. Thanks. It was random, calling a cucco "Stupid Cucco", but I couldn't help it! =P Hyrule? I don't know. xD Lol. No. I won't reveal his first crush anywhere in this story, because, to be honest, it was no one in particular. Really! You think it has good humor in it? Thank you so much! Actually, no. I didn't base Shiro on that dude. I didn't even remember who that dude was until you mentioned him. Lol. And oh my gosh! Thank you SO much! You made my day with the comments about Grog and Anju's characterizations. ^_^ You're amazing. Seriously. :) And surprisingly enough, no. It wasn't Cremia that had been Kafei's girlfriend. I actually didn't think of that possibility. So... nope. It wasn't her. And well, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for this chapter. But like I said above, I have been really busy. Still, I hope you like this chapter!**

**So, everyone, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! ^_^**

* * *

><p>"Grog, wake up."<p>

"No." He pulled his pillow over his head and let out a groan.

"You have to get up. We have work today. And Dad said that some girl from the ranch came back here yesterday evening and said that Cojiro had been pretty upset lately and she doesn't know why."

The teenager's head poked up a bit at the sound of his cucco, but he still let it flop face first back down onto the bed.

"She wants you to go see Cojiro today," the girl continued cheerfully.

"Okay..." the boy mumbled tiredly into the mattress of the bed. He had only been half listening.

The girl grabbed her brother's arm and pulled on it. "Come on. You have to get up."

"No."

"Why are you so tired?"

"I was up until one o'clock last night."

Anju's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Just let me go back to sleep."

Anju stubbornly walked over to the bottom of the bed and grabbed Grog's feet before dragging him out of bed.

A second later, the boy was on the floor, glaring up at his older sister. "Fine," he said, standing. "I'm up."

An hour later, Grog was standing behind the front desk of The Stock Pot Inn. His light colored eyes slowly scanned over the room. There was no one there except for a man, probably in his late thirties or early forties. Maybe even older than that. The man was standing in front of a bench across the room.

Grog had never seen him before. "Uh... sir? Can I help you with anything?"

"Bah, bother! I'm busy!" the man exclaimed.

"Busy doing _what?_" Grog asked after a pause.

The man shot Grog a glare before glancing at his watch.

Grog carefully watched the older man as he turned and slowly exited the building.

The teenager rolled his eyes and sighed. He really didn't like working behind the counter. He realized exactly how much a few seconds later when the oh-so-pleasant Julie Jones came storming down the stairs.

Her high heels sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Grog as they pounded on the stairs, giving Grog a headache immediately.

He sent her an irritated glare as she walked into the room.

She glared back at him evenly.

It was quite a sight to see: the two of them glaring at each other in silence.

"What do you want, Ms. Jones?" Grog asked, an edge with slight calmness in his voice.

"I need new sheets for the beds in my room," she answered, frustrated. "The ones I have smell terrible!"

"Why? What happened to them? Did your bad breath stink them up again?"

Julie tried to stay calm. "No. For your information, they smell terrible, because they haven't been washed in a _very long time._"

"Well, I wonder why. Maybe it's because _you _haven't washed them lately." The woman opened her mouth to speak, but Grog went on. "You can't just ask for new sheets every time yours start to smell bad."

Ms. Jones looked surprised. "Well! Then, I demand a refund!"

"On _what?_"

"The sheets!"

"You didn't pay for them!"

Ms. Jones narrowed her eyes at the teen. "I hope you realize that I can get you fired from this place faster than you can blink."

"Yes! Do that! Please! Then at least I wouldn't have to put up with people like you!"

"I can also keep you working here for the rest of your life. So, watch your mouth, young man."

Grog opened his mouth, but then closed it back, at a loss for words. He sighed in defeat. "How may I help with you sheets, ma'am?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"Well, as a matter of fact," Ms. Jones began.

Grog tried hard to listen to her. But he was already getting frustrated again. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>Anju had been spending the time that she didn't have to work walking around. She was heading to the Post Office in West Clock Town when she had spotted a familiar face.<p>

Now, she and the old friend were talking, just like old times.

It was Kafei. She had missed him so much, but they had been keeping in touch for the past few years through writing letters. She was amazed that it turned out they lived in the same town.

"So, how are your parents?" Anju asked him.

"They're great. And yours?"

"Well, Dad has been busy working and Mother has been helping out with Granny."

Kafei smiled.

Anju smiled back and admired how charming the boy's smile truly was. She had really missed him. "So, how have you been?" she asked.

"I've been okay. Just helping out my dad with business and stuff."

"Oh, really? That's great."

"Yeah. So, how are you?"

"I'm very well. Thank you for asking."

"So, where do you guys live?"

"The Stock Pot Inn. We just moved there a few days ago."

"That's great. I'll be sure to go visit you sometime."

Anju nodded. "Okay." She glanced at a clock not too far away. "Oh! I have to go soon! I have to take my shift at the inn."

"Okay." He hesitated. "Anju, wait. Before you go..."

"What?"

"Well... I saw Grog last night..."

"Really? Where? When?"

"It was really late." Kafei looked troubled. "Is... Grog okay?"

"As far as I know, yes. Why?"

"He was just really angry, that's all."

"I'm sure he's fine. You know he has his moments."

Kafei nodded.

"I'll talk to him if you want me to."

Kafei shook his head. "No. It's fine."

Anju nodded and smiled. "Okay," she said. "I have to go now, though."

Kafei quickly stepped closer to Anju. "Wait."

Anju laughed. "What, Kafei?"

Kafei's face turned a barely noticeable light shade of red as he knelt to the ground. He smiled up at the girl who had been his long-distance girlfriend for a couple of years. "Anju." He spoke softly. "Will you marry me?"

The red head was surprised. Her mouth was wide open and her eyes were wide. "Kafei." It was the only word that she could even think to say. After a minute, her mind slowly came back to her. "But... what would our parents say?"

Kafei stood and took Anju's hands in his own. "It doesn't matter what they would say."

"But you _know _that my mother doesn't like you."

"It's not about _her,_ Anju. It's about _us._ I _love you._ And no one or no thing can change that."

Tears of happiness sprang into Anju's blue eyes. That was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever told her.

In the distance, a guard stood at the exit of the town. Even he, a strong man, probably in his thirties, had tears welling up in his eyes.

"Will you marry me?" Kafei asked again.

"Oh, Kafei! Of course I will!" Anju smiled a huge smile and wrapped her arms around Kafei's neck.

He laughed, picked her up, and spun her around.

They were happier than ever before.

* * *

><p>"You know what?" Grog yelled, finally at his breaking point. "I'm sick of your complaining! You can take all your dirty clothes and dishes and shove them-"<p>

He stopped when the front door of the inn swung open.

Ms. Jones, who was standing in front of the counter, kept a steady glare at Grog, not bothering to look at see who had entered the inn.

But Grog did look. It was Anju. She had a huge smile on her face and an unmistakeable glow about her. Her brother recognized that glow. She was happy. Happier than she'd been in a long time.

"Grog!" she exclaimed. "You'll never guess what!"

He gave her a questioning look.

"I saw Kafei today! And he and I are engaged!"

"What?" the girl's younger brother asked quietly, so in shock that it was hard for him to grasp the idea.

"Kafei and I, we're engaged!" she repeated cheerfully. "Oh, Grog! It's going to be wonderful! We're both going to make masks and exchange them on our wedding day!" Her bright smile grew wider as she went on. "And he told me he loved me! It was _so _romantic!"

Grog's face was paler than usual and he was unable to speak.

Ms. Jones, however, smiled. "Congratulations," she told Anju.

"Thank you!" exclaimed the girl, bouncing on her heels with excitement. She turned to Grog. "I just _have _to tell everyone else!"

And before anyone could react, Anju hurried out of the room to go tell her grandmother.

Grog stared silently in the direction his sister had ran, his mouth wide open.

Ms. Jones looked at him skeptically. "Why aren't you happy for your sister?"

Grog shot her a glare, then turned and left the building quickly.

Ms. Jones shook her head after he was gone.

* * *

><p>Romani Ranch was more peaceful than ever.<p>

Birds soared through the sky, chirping loudly. Cows stood around the pasture, eating grass. A few of them examined the teenager as he came storming past them.

A small girl with long, red hair ran around the big yard, flying a kite.

Grog slowly approached her. "Um... where do you keep the cuccos?"

"Why do you need to know?" She looked up at him innocently.

"Because my cucco is being kept here somewhere since my family and I can't keep him where we live."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"By trusting that I'm a nice guy."

"How do I know that if I do trust you, you won't try to steal some cuccos when I'm not looking?"

"Why would I do that?"

"To make money off them. I hear that there's some ranch in Hyrule that just _loves _horses and cuccos."

Grog's eyes widened a little bit at how the child was acting. Where in the _world _could she have learned all this? "...How old are you?"

"Young enough to be flying a kite and old enough to be telling you you can't go see those cuccos." She shrugged. "How old is that?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "How am I supposed to know?"

She gave him an irritated look and then went back to flying her kite. "You'll figure it out one day."

He shook his head. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with a... how old could she be? A... five year old? Maybe? This day got weirder by the second. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked the girl.

"I am not authorized to answer that question."

Grog blinked. _What the heck?_

"Also, I should be the one asking _your_ name. As soon as you entered the ranch, I could have just asked for all your information. But that includes a lot of big words and way too many questions."

"Can't I just _please _go see my cucco?"

"I've already told you no. There's no use in asking again."

"Come on. Why don't you trust me?"

"Because I don't know you. And last time I checked, the only person who even _wanted_ to come here was Cremia."

_Cremia!_ Grog thought. _That's it!_

"Um... where _is_ Cremia?" he asked.

"In the stable, milking a cow."

Grog raced off in that direction.

He didn't bother knocking before he came into the stable.

Cremia didn't look up from where she was milking the cow. "Romani, I've already told you that there's _no_ way you're going to sit on a cucco and fly away."

Grog laughed dryly. "She really wants to do that?"

Cremia's head snapped up and she looked over at him. She laughed. "Oh. I thought you were my sister."

"Apparently."

Cremia stood up. "So, what can I help you with?" She smiled brightly. "Are you here to see your cucco?"

Grog nodded, thankful that Cremia would let him.

She excitedly raced over to the Cucco Shack with him following close behind. She swung the door of the shack open and let him walk in.

He looked around at all of the cuccos. There was male cuccos. Female cuccos. Baby cuccos. They were all different and he admired the sight of them. "Woah," he breathed, feeling a little happier about being able to get his mind off Anju's big engagement news. "That's a lot of cuccos."

Cremia laughed. "Yeah. Well, we tend to get a lot of them around here."

Grog stepped forward into the large area. "Where's Cojiro?"

At the sound of his name, Cojiro flew out of a nearby tree and over to Grog.

Grog held out an arm so that Cojiro could land on it.

Cojiro swooped down and landed gently on his owner's arm.

Grog grinned. "I missed you, boy."

Cremia smiled at the two of them.

Grog stroked Cojiro's back. "So," he started, glancing at Cremia. "Who takes care of this place?"

"No one, at the moment." She paused. "I mean, I do come in here to feed the cuccos everyday, but I'm so busy working with everything else on the ranch that I don't have time to care to each cucco individually. It's kind of sad."

Grog nodded, looking around.

"When the cuccos get sick, I'm usually not around enough to notice. And even when I am, I'm not sure how to bring them back to their average health."

Grog thought for a moment. "Well... maybe... I know how to take care of cuccos when they're sick. My sister taught me how. You can ask me anytime a cucco is sick and I can try to help you out."

Cremia's face brightened. "Really?" she exclaimed. "That's so nice of you! Thanks!"

He nodded.

Later on, after his visit with Cremia and Cojiro, Grog headed back to Clock Town. Despite the fact that he was still angry about Kafei proposing to Anju, he felt a little more calm now that he had seen Cojiro.

On the way back to town, he had remembered that he'd said he would meet with the mayor again about his dad's business, so, now, that was where he was heading.

He entered the mayor's building, ignored the annoying receptionist, and walked right into the mayor's office.

Fortunately, the mayor didn't seem to be busy.

"Oh. Hello, Grog," he greeted.

"Hi, sir," Grog replied, sitting down in a chair.

"You are here about your father's idea to build a tower for the Carnival of Time, I assume?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay." He paused. "Ah... let me see..." Mayor Dotour began to dig through the many papers on his desk. It took him a while, but he finally found the paper he was looking for. "My wife and I have came to an agreement that your father _can _build the tower."

Grog nearly smiled. He was relieved. He had wanted the mayor to say yes so that he didn't have to deal with his dad.

"...If..." Mayor Dotour added.

"If...?" Grog asked, fearing the answer.

"If you and your family agree to attend a banquet with my family and I tomorrow night."

Grog was cautious. "What... kind of banquet?"

"A banquet in celebration of our son, Kafei, getting married to your sister, of course!"

Grog's eyes widened. "Kafei is _your_ son?" he asked, incredulous.

Mayor Dotour nodded. "That's right. He certainly is. And he claims he is very in love with your sister." He smiled. "Be sure to tell your family about the banquet! I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow evening! Be here at five o'clock."

Grog was reluctant, but slowly nodded, anyway. "...Okay..." he said slowly.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! Review if you like it, please! ^_^<strong>


	9. The Banquet

**Another chapter! Yes! FINALLY! =P**

**It took a while, but here it is, folks. =D**

**This chapter only changes a little of the Majora's Mask game.**

**Now to reply to the review...**

**Chaos Wielder: It's okay. :) I just apologize for not updating in a while! I have been busy, too. And I just finished this chapter today! I'll be writing the next chapter soon. ^_^ Haha. Thanks so much for the review! Every review I get from you makes me smile and they really do teach me a lot. I thought I rushed the proposal thing a little, too. I guess I just wanted to get that over with. =P Lol. No. I enjoyed writing it. I just wasn't sure how to go about it. And yes! Definitely! Romani will definitely appear later on! It was so fun to write her. She's a cool little girl. xD Haha. Yeah. The Cucco Shack. That's kind of gonna tie in with a larger part of the story... Possibly. But you'll see sooner or later, anyway. ;) By the way, I hope you like this chapter! ^_^ And thank you so much! That means a lot!**

** Well, everyone, I hope y'all like it! =]**

* * *

><p>"You want me to wear <em>that?<em>" Grog was incredulous.

"Yes. You need to look nice tonight."

"Why?"

"Because this banquet is really important to me."

"Anju, I don't want to wear that."

She held up the tuxedo and examined it. "Why? What's wrong with it?"

"I just don't like it."

"Oh. Come on, Grog. It would look great on you!"

Grog shook his head.

Anju sighed. "Will you at least try it on?"

Grog was quiet for a while. "...Fine," he finally agreed.

"I look like an alien from Planet Stupid Suits," Grog commented as he stared at himself in the mirror.

"You do not!" Anju exclaimed. "You look like a prince charming."

Grog rolled his eyes. "Yeah; because that's _so_ much better."

Anju ignored what he'd said as she straightened out his tie.

"Seriously, Anju, this suit is too tight," he complained.

"It's just because you haven't gotten used to wearing it yet."

Grog pulled on the collar of his shirt, trying to be able to breathe.

"Don't do that!" Anju exclaimed. "You'll mess up your tie!"

Grog sighed. "It doesn't have to be perfect, Anju."

"Yes it does," she insisted. "You need to make a good impression on Kafei's family."

"But when I was little, you told me to be myself and things would work out for the better."

"This time it's a little different, Grog..." she muttered while straightening out the wrinkles on the arm of his jacket.

"What?" he asked in disbelief. "How come those rules don't apply to this situation?"

"Because this is a _very_ formal banquet. That means that you can't just show up wearing your casual, comfortable clothes," she explained softly.

He inwardly groaned, but didn't say anything else. He was glaring at his fancy shoes when he felt a gentle hand touch the side of his face.

He looked up to see Anju's blue eyes staring at him with a mixture of care and sadness. She gave him the smallest of smiles. "Your eye looks like it's healing," she told him.

He nodded slowly. His eye had gotten less and less purple over the last couple of days and it was no longer swollen. He figured it would go back to its normal color within the next day or so.

Anju took her hand off his face and hesitated to say something. "Grog?"

"Yeah?"

"Well... um..." She sighed, finally deciding to just come right out and ask. "Kafei said he saw you the other night. What were you out doing at a time like that?"

He tried to think of a reasonable lie. "I... couldn't sleep. I wanted to take a walk."

"Grog, I know that's not true. Now, _please-_"

Anju was interrupted by the door opening. "Anju, Grog, it's time to leave now. I hope you're both ready," their mother said.

"Why are you so dressed up, Mother?" Anju asked. "I thought you were going to stay here and run the inn."

"I was, but your uncle, Tom, said that he would run it for us tonight." She turned to Grog. "Wow. You certainly look... different."

He glared at her before stiffly walking out of the room.

"Be sure not to get anything on that suit!" Anju called after him. "We're only renting it for tonight!"

"Yeah, yeah," Grog called with a bored tone of voice, giving a short wave of his hand.

It was the fanciest place in Clock Town. It was mostly a restaurant for rich people, or important people of the town. It was considered an honor for anyone such as Grog's family to even be invited there.

Grog nervously looked around.

People in royal-looking dresses and tuxedos walked across the gold, marble floor. Some of them were dancing gracefully in the middle of the room while others were sitting at round tables, enjoying their expensive dinners.

Purple curtains hung on tall pillars that went straight to the ceiling; which had a huge chandelier hanging from it.

Grog spotted the mayor and his family halfway across the room.

"Don't mess this up for us," Mutoh whispered to Grog.

Grog didn't have time to reply, because that was when Anju raced across he room to Kafei, who was now standing, looking their way.

Once she'd reached him, he swooped her up into his ars and spun her around. She giggled with happiness.

Grog rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to throw up.

He and the rest of his family slowly approached the table.

Even though he was wearing a suit, Grog still felt odd around all of those people.

Madame Aroma smiled politely at all of them. "Hello," she greeted, standing up.

"Hi," said Catrina, shaking Madame Aroma's hand. "I'm Catrina, and this is my family." She motioned to everyone else nearby. "That's my husband, Mutoh." Mutoh nodded at them. "That's my mother-in-law. We call her Granny."

Granny grinned, but it looked more like a smirk. "Hi, dear. Would you like me to read you a story?"

Kafei laughed and Catrina continued.

"That's our son, Grog." Grog blinked. "And, of course, you know our daughter, Anju."

Anju smiled brightly and hugged Kafei.

Madame Aroma smiled. "It's nice to meet all of you. My name is Aroma." She motioned ot her family. "That is my husband, the mayor, Dotour." He smiled and waved. "And that is our son, Kafei."

Kafei grinned at everyone.

"I remember you," Catrina said to Kafei, her voice was calm, but it was obvious that she was glaring at him.

Kafei opened his mouth to say something, but Madame Aroma spoke before he could. "You all should sit down. We must eat before the food gets cold."

Everyone took their seats and began eating their food. An awkward silence fell between them.

Grog figured it was better than everyone starting an argument. Because that would ruin everything for Anju. And he didn't want for that to happen.

Mutoh cleared his throat before turning to Mayor Dotour. "Thank you so much for allowing my workers and I to start building a watch tower for The Carnival of Time. We really appreciate it."

Mayor Dotour chuckled. "Oh. It was no problem at all." He paused, seeming to be deep in thought. "Although, I do have one question."

"Hm?" Mutoh questioned, his mouth full of a large piece of steak.

"Why did you get your _son_ to handle _your_ errand?"

Mutoh swallowed his food. "Because..." he trailed off, trying to think of a good reason why.

Grog decided to cut in. He didn't want to hear about this from his dad when he got home. "Because... I... really wanted to meet the mayor of Clock Town... and Dad was busy working."

Mayor Dotour was about to ask why Mutoh was working when the mayor hadn't even said yes yet, but decided to let it go.

Mutoh sighed in relief.

Granny turned ot Madame Aroma. "So, dear, what is your name?"

Madame Aroma was taken aback. "Um, I just told you. My name is Aroma," she explained.

"I apologize," Catrina said before Granny could get another word in. "She can be a bit... forgetful sometimes.

"Forgetful?" Pure anger shone in Granny's eyes. "I am not forgetful!" She turned to Mutoh. "I told you not to marry this maniac of a woman!"

Grog raised his eyebrows. _And just when you think you know someone..._

"What?" Catrina shrieked. "You never told me that!"

"It's obvious that you're an idiot. I thought you would have noticed by now."

Catrina's face was turning red with anger.

Grog could feel the tension at the table and he looked over at Anju. She looked close to tears.

Well, this _was _their family, after all.

It's better that Kafei got to see the _real_ them before he and Anju got married. Just in case he had any... you know... second thoughts about it.

Kafei put a gentle arm around Anju's shoulders.

"Don't you comfort her," Catrina told him, angry. "This is our family and if you don't like how we are, maybe you shouldn't even be marrying her in the first place."

He looked confused.

Madame Aroma was outraged and Mayor Dotour's eyes went wide.

"I will not tolerate you speaking to my son like that!" exclaimed Madame Aroma.

"Yeah? Well, tolerate it, because _she's _just _that_ crazy," Granny said.

Mutoh was quick to speak before Catrina could. "_Okay_, Mom. That's enough!" He turned to his youngest child. "Grog, could you please take Granny home?"

Grog nodded and stood up before walking over to Granny and taking hold of the handles of her wheelchair.

"What?" Granny was appalled. "No! I'm not leaving!" She leaned over toward Mutoh and whacked him on the head with her pocket book.

"Ow!" Mutoh shouted. "What's in that thing?"

Granny didn't answer, but she looked over her shoulder at Grog, silently warning him not to make her leave.

He immediately took his hands off the wheelchair and slightly held them up in defense. He glanced around the room. People were starting to stare.

"Grog, get her out of here," Mutoh whispered.

Grog took hold of the wheelchair again and began backing it up.

"No!" Granny yelled. "I don't wanna leave yet!"

Grog ignored her and kept going.

She continued to yell and protest, drawing even _more_ unwanted attention to them.

Before anyone could react, a little boy was running nearby with a cart of food. A waiter was chasing him. Grog noticed and quickly pushed his grandmother toward the table. He was trying to move out of the way, but didn't move quick enough.

The cart went slamming into his stomach, causing him to slide on the top of it before flipping off.

The little boy had gotten out of the way before Grog had went crashing down onto the floor. Grog heard a rip from behind. He soon realized that the back of his suit had ripped and that, if he hadn't been sitting down, everyone would be able to see his boxer shorts from behind. _See, Anju?_ he thought. _I told you that the suit was too tight._

He slowly sat up.

The waiter who had been chasing the little boy looked down at Grog. His eyes were wide. "Oh! Goodness, sir! Are you okay?"

Grog, still a little dazed from the fall, nodded. "Yeah..."

Anju was already up and hurrying over to him. "Grog! Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

She gasped.

He quickly looked up at her. "What?"

"Your suit! It's ruined!"

He looked down, only to find that his suit was wet _and _covered in food.

Catrina was furious as she stood up. "I don't believe this! After _all _the money we spent on that suit!" She walked over to her children, her heels clicking loudly on the floor. "Get up!" she yelled at Grog. "We're leaving since you don't even know how to act respectively around these people!" She turned to the rest of her family. "All of you get up, too! We're _all _leaving!"

Grog quietly sighed before getting to his feet.

Catrina grabbed him by the collar of his suit and began angrilly marching him toward the exit.

"Leave it to Grog to do something that stupid," muttered Mutoh as he grabbed hold of Granny's wheelchair. "Now, Mom, don't go crazy this time..."

"I'm not crazy!" Granny screamed at him.

He began wheeling her away from the table. "Whaaat? We're leaving?" She smiled softly before looking over her shoulder at Kafei and his family. "Well, have a nice evening, dears. Maybe next time I can read you a story."

Anju nearly performed a facepalm when Granny, who decided to make things creepier, _winked_ at her fiance's family.

Mutoh wheeled the old woman out of there.

Anju turned to Kafei, Madame Aroma, and Mayor Dotour. Her mouth was open, but no words were coming out.

They all stared at her, wide eyed.

She finally sighed. "I'm sorry," she said slowly. "About..." She tried to think of the right words. "...All of that." She paused. "Thank you all - _very_ much - for having all of us here to eat dinner with you." She smiled as brightly and as hopefully as she could. "Maybe we can do this again sometime." She gave them a small wave and polite bow before slowly turning around.

She was _way_ past the point of embarrassed. "Or maybe not," she added, barely audible, through clenched teeth.

Despite the fact that some people around the big room were still staring, she held her head high as she left the building, holding onto the last bit of dignity she had left.

Kafei's family watched her as she exited the restaurant.

"Well, that was... not boring," Madame Aroma commented.

"No. Not at all," Mayor Dotour added.

Even though Kafei felt bad for Anju, he still felt the need to lighten the mood. "But Anju looked _great,_ right?" he asked his parents.

Both of them shot him frustrated looks.

He blushed and shrugged. "Well... _I _thought so," he muttered.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading! Review if you like it, please! ^_^<strong>


	10. Questions and Answers

**First chapter of the year! And chapter 10, at that. ^_^**

**You can thank StarxBright for the fact that this chapter was completed in a day. She is awesome and the one who gave me advice on updating! ^_^**

**Anyway, I hope this chapter turned out all right. It's kind of long, I know. =]**

**Pomegranates: That was a real nice review. :) Thank you so much! I love sibling things in fanfictions (and original stories) as well. I have three siblings and I love them a whole bunch. ^_^**

**Chaos Wielder: Thank you so much for the review! ^_^ Seriously, your reviews mean the world to me. =D I really hoped you liked that last chapter - and this one as well! I've been trying to work on typos, detail, and such. Hopefully that will improve as time goes on. :) Thanks again for the review. :D**

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! ^_^**

* * *

><p>The lights around East Clock Town shone beautifully in the darkness of the night. The boy in the shadows watched as the jugglers finally went inside to play cards like they always did.<p>

His feet dangled off the edge of the balcony as he looked around. It was fairly peaceful outside on that night. The wind blew gently around him. He liked the quiet. It let him sort out the thoughts that he didn't have time to sort out during the day.

A guard standing at the exit glanced over at him. He nodded back.

"So... what are we doing here?" Navi asked him, her white wings fluttering to keep her aloft.

He shrugged, putting a hand on his green hat to keep it from flying off his head. "We just needed a break."

"Why are we even still in this town? It's a little boring, if you ask me."

The boy, Link, blinked at her, but said nothing. He wasn't one to talk a whole lot.

"Are we on a mission or something?"

"No. But I feel like we need to stay here a little bit longer."

Navi rolled her eyes. "Okay." She trusted him, but she didn't always trust his decisions.

He cocked his head to the side and put a finger to his lips when he heard voices nearby.

"I'm so tired of being treated like I don't know anything!" It was an old lady.

"No one thinks that, Ma'." It was a frustrated man.

"I just can't believe that Grog ruined that suit! We spent a lot of money on it!" A woman.

Link was quick to back up further into the shadows so that he wouldn't be spotted. Navi followed him.

They heard the door to the inn that they were on top of, open and then close. The two of them shared a glance.

* * *

><p>Tom watched as his family walked into the inn. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said. "What's going on? Why do you all look frustrated?"<p>

Anju gave him the smallest of smiles. "It was just a long night, Uncle Tom."

He raised his eyebrows and turned to his youngest nephew. "Grog, what happened to your suit? Why is it all dirty?"

Catrina still had a tight grip on her son's shoulder. She turned him around for Tom to see. "It's not _just _dirty."

Grog's head went down in humiliation as a pretty girl nearby laughed at the sight of his ripped suit. His face turned red. "Can I just... go upstairs?" he asked quietly.

Tom smothered a laugh. "Sure, kid."

Anju sent him a sympathetic look as he slowly walked up the stairs.

"So, how was your fiance?" Tom asked her.

Anju nodded. "He was good." Her smile faded. "And then we got there."

Catrina rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic," she said. "Now, take your grandmother to her room. She's probably tired."

The next morning, Anju stayed quiet as she stood in front of the front desk in the inn. She tried not to think too much about what had happened the night before. All she knew was, she would be too embarrassed to go around Kafei's family for a while. Why did her family have to be so... unorganized? That wasn't even the word. They were more hectic. More surprising, which wasn't always a good thing.

She looked around the room. There hadn't been many people wandering around on that bright morning. She wondered why. Maybe they were all busy getting ready for the carnival.

The girl's thoughts were interrupted when she heard the front door of the inn open.

"Hi," Cremia greeted with a warm smile.

"Hi." Anju smiled. The girl looked a bit familiar, but she couldn't place her name.

Cremia laughed at the expression on Anju's face. "I'm Cremia. I run my family's ranch right on Milk Road."

"Romani Ranch?"

She nodded and looked around. "Is Grog here?"

Anju shrugged, looking only slightly sorrowful at the thought of her younger brother. "I don't know." She laughed a little, trying not to think of everything that had happened the night before. "It's hard to tell with him."

"He talks about you a lot," Cremia pointed out. "You two most be very close."

Anju looked up from where she had been staring at the front desk. "He does?"

"Yeah."

Anju managed a real smile. "I'm Anju, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, An-" She stopped when the door to the inn came open.

Kafei stepped in, a smile on his face as he looked over at his beautiful fiance. The smile faded, however, when he spotted Cremia standing in the room. His eyes went wide.

Cremia blushed and smiled. "Oh. Hi, Kafei."

"Hi." He nodded curtly at her.

Anju smiled softly at both of them. "You two know each other?"

Kafei ran a hand through his longish, purple hair. "Yeah. I... met her when I first moved here..."

Cremia turned to Anju. "How do you know him?"

"Kafei is my fiance." Her face lit up with happiness as she thought about him.

Cremia's eyes widened in shock and heartbreak. "What?" she asked, after a long pause.

"Anju and I are engaged to be married," Kafei told her.

Cremia's mouth was left wide open. She was beyond surprised.

That was when Catrina came walking into the room.

She narrowed her eyes at Kafei, looking him up and down. "What are _you _doing here?"

"Uh... I'm just here to see your daughter, ma'am."

Catrina looked at all of them. At Anju's confused face, at Kafei blushing, at Cremia's shocked expression. It was clear that Cremia had probably liked Kafei, at least at one point in her life. Catrina already hated the farm girl.

They all watched each other in awkward silence.

Anju's face went bright red as she once again remembered the humiliating night before. She would be blessed if Kafei stayed with her until their wedding day. Her family was tough to live with, especially considering he came from a wealthy family who usually attended fancy dinners and outings.

As if to prove her point, Grog slowly came into the room, pushing Granny's wheelchair.

The old woman looked around. "Well, look over there." She pointed. "That's the handsome young man from last night, isn't it? The one with the strange, purple hair. Tell me, son, is your mother ashamed of you?"

Kafei's face went red. That was his natural hair color, he got it from his father. "Uh..."

Anju stifled a sigh and looked over at Grog, hoping that he would understand exactly _how _much she wanted her grandmother out of there.

"She won't eat her soup," Grog explained simply when he noticed all eyes were on him.

"Granny, _I _made that soup," Anju said. "Why won't you eat it?"

"Would you like me to read you a story?" the old woman asked.

"What? No, Granny. You _need _to eat your soup."

"Catrina, why aren't you running that mouth like you usually do?"

Catrina's eyebrows furrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest like a stubborn seven year old. "I'm not speaking to you."

Granny chuckled. "Oh, dear, you just did." She put a hand to the side of her mouth and looked over her shoulder and Grog. "And they say that _I'm _forgetful."

Grog's pale face went red as he noticed that Cremia was in the room as well, witnessing his crazy family in action for the first time ever.

"Look, all I'm saying is that if _you _didn't want Mutoh to marry me, _you _should have said something," Catrina shot back, fuming.

"Mother?" Anju cut in. "Maybe you two should have this conversation out-"

"I _did _say something!" Granny yelled.

Catrina gave her an angry, but questioning look. "Oh, really? When?"

"Last night at dinner! But you were too busy flapping your jaws to notice the _real _truth!"

Cremia laughed nervously. "Uh... maybe this isn't the best time... I'll just g-"

"That's right!" Catrina yelled at the red head. "You leave _this _instant!"

Cremia's eyes widened, but she didn't move.

"Don't you yell at her!" Granny shouted. She turned to Cremia. "You'll have to excuse her, dear, she's a little loony in the head."

"Excuse me?" Catrina said. "_You're _the one with mental issues!"

"At least _I _ain't so fat that I have to exercise for a good forty-five minutes every morning just to get into my clothes!"

Catrina gasped, her face going red with anger. "You know what? I am sick and tired of you talking bad about me! I'm _two _seconds away from taking that wheelchair and-"

She was interrupted by Shiro, who was running down the stairs. "Grog!" he yelled. "Why did you take my gun?"

Grog's back was against the wall as he watched Shiro run downstairs. "I didn't-"

"Don't lie to me!"

By the time Shiro had reached Grog, Grog was racing out of the inn, pushing past Cremia and Kafei to get out.

"Grog!" Anju cried, deeply concerned for her brother.

Cremia watched as Shiro went chasing after him. This was what he had to put up with?

Kafei shook his head sadly, going over to make sure Anju was okay. She looked really upset.

Meanwhile, a figure stood in the shadows just outside th einn, his eyes caring,but worried as he watched Grog run for his life. The person in the shadows knew that that little routine would have to come to a stop, even if it meant getting involved.

* * *

><p>Nearly an hour had passed when Grog found himself in Termina Field, sitting alone.<p>

His back rested against the trunk of a tree. Shiro had given up on chasing his after a while, only after promising he'd get the boy back later.

Everything was messed up. He was still running errands for his dad. His mother and grandmother had humiliated him in front of Cremia. And Anju, his sister _and _best friend, was engaged to the boy who had broken her heart the most.

Not only that, but Shiro and the rest of the servants were bound and determined to make his life miserable.

He wished he had ran away back in Kakariko Village when he'd had the chance.

"Grog?" He looked up at the voice. It was Kafei. _Out of all people... _he thought.

He looked away.

"Are you okay?" Kafei finally asked.

"I'm fine," Grog answered bitterly.

"Really? Because from the way you ran out of the Stock Pot Inn today, you're not."

Grog sighed, looking annoyed. "Kafei, I'm not in the mood to talk about it, okay?"

Kafei looked at the teenager, trying to find something, _anything, _that would show why he was so angry.

Grog didn't even glance at his soon to be brother-in-law.

"Grog, I don't know why you're so mad at me, but whatever I did, I'm sorry." He sounded so sincere. Grog resisted the urge to punch him.

"I don't care," he replied, his voice harsh. "You think you can just show up again, apologize, and everything will be fine. Well, guess what? It won't."

Kafei raised his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"You broke my sister's heart!" His blood was boiling. "You don't remember that? She was upset for _days, _Kafei! She loved you, a lot!" He shook his head, looking away, his bright eyes blazing with anger. "And then we moved here." His voice was quieter now. "Anju was so happy when she told me you two were engaged. But that's just how she is: forgiving.

"You're lucky that she is. She still loves you after all you put her through." He finally turned to look at the boy with the purple hair. "I'm not like my sister, though. I won't forgive you that easily." His eyes narrowed as he felt himself growing angrier. "If you _ever _break Anju's heart again, you won't just be sorry. You wil regret it for the _rest of your life. _And that's a promise, not a threat."

That was the toughest he had sounded his whole life, the most he had ever said at one time. But he meant it.

Kafei's eyes were wide, but he nodded and sighed. "Listen, Grog. I'm sorry that I ever hurt your sister. But that was the past."

Grog snorted, but Kafei continued.

"I _love _Anju, with all of my heart. She's beautiful. She's smart, funny, caring, kind. I don't what it will take to prove that to you." He stood up. "I'll shout it to the world if I have to."

Grog stayed silent even as the older boy walked away. He heard Cojiro crow in the distance. Even though Kafei cheating on Anju was a majority have why he didn't like the mayor's son, that wasn't all.

If Anju married Kafei, Grog would lose the very best, and only, real friend he had.

* * *

><p>"Mother, I know you don't like him, but we are going to get married."<p>

Anju and her mom were talking near the front desk in the inn. This ongoing discussion had last a good thirty minutes already, and Anju was beginning to get the slightest bit frustrated.

The red head's earlier excitement - some good news for Grog - had soon ended when her mother had brought up the subject of Kafei.

"Well, darling, it's quite obvious that he and Cremia have something going on between them. A hidden relationship, maybe?"

"For the last time, Kafei doesn't like Cremia and she doesn't like him." Anju sighed.

"Stop being so naive, Anju!" Catrina exclaimed. "Open your eyes!" She was quiet for a moment. "Maybe it just isn't meant to be for you two to get married."

Anju stared at her mother in shock. "How can you say that?" All she had wanted was for her family to support her, but now, she was learning that her own mother _didn't. _Her eyes welled up with tears. "Kafei and I love each other."

"Sometimes in life, Anju, things just aren't as they seem."

In sadness and frustration, Anju went around the counter and headed for the exit.

Once she was outside, she slammed the door behind her.

Kafei loved her. He had to. Why else would they be engaged?

Why didn't her own mother support her in her decision to marry him?

Why did Mutoh's workers have to torture Grog?

Why did life have to be so confusing?

Tears finally went streaming down her face. She didn't want anyone to see her crying, so, she hurried to the usually vacant Laundry Pool.

She tried to stop crying as she sat down on a nearby bench, staring hopelessly over at the still water.

What if Kafei really _did _like Cremia?

What if her mother was right?

Her mind raced until almost silent footsteps caused her to look up.

There he stood, almost too skinny and tall for his age. Bright eyes, but a serious expression. No matter what the season, he never wore a shirt, but a mowhawk stood high on his head.

Anju looked away, still trying to stop the tears, but she could feel him staring at her.

"Anju." His voice was quiet, only slightly sounding worried. "What's wrong?" He slowly walked over to her, sitting to her right on the old, wooden bench.

She shook her head. "Mom thinks that I shouldn't marry Kafei."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. She... thinks that Kafei has feelings for Cremia and not me."

Grog was silent for a moment. "Does he?"

Anju looked at Grog, tears threatening to fall from her eyes again. "Of course not!"

He nodded, but didn't speak. He suddenly felt guilty for not wanting the two to get married. He was just glad that he had never mentioned it to her. He put a comforting arm around her shoulders. It was selfish of him to worry about his own problems. He needed to start worrying about her more. "It'll be okay, Anju," he said softly. Even when no one else would support her, or be there for her, he would. He hoped she knew that.

She nodded as he hugged her. She sniffled. "Grog?"

He looked at her.

"Thank you."

He only nodded in reply.

"Oh!" She sat up a little as she remembered something. "I... do have some _good _news."

He looked at her warily. "What?" he asked slowly.

"I saw him today!"

His eyebrows furrowed as he searched her large, blue eyes to figure out what she was talking about. "...Who?"

"Um..." she trailed off, trying to remember his name. "It was that guy. The one that you wanted to see again!"

He shook his head, not understanding.

"His name... It was Link!" she finally exclaimed.

Grog blinked. She had to be joking.

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you for reading! Review if you like it, please! ^_^<strong>


	11. Lost and Found

**Almost five months since I last updated. That's too long.  
>But here is the eleventh chapter! ^_^<br>I reread some of the other chapters on Saturday and that totally got me excited to write more. This chapter turned out way longer than I thought it would! xD  
>The only thing that this chapter changes from the MM game is Link's age. In this story, Link is between Grog's and Anju's age.<br>Also, for those of you who love Romani, she's in this chapter! :D  
>This chapter is wonderful in the fact that I enjoyed writing it and that it inspired <em>two, <em>new short LoZ stories. They'll be coming up soon, so keep your eyes out. ;) Both will have Grog in them! ^_^  
>Anyway, I shall reply to the review now! :)<strong>

**Chaos Wielder: Goodness! Don't apologize! xD It took me longer to update than it did for you to review! It's fine, I promise. :)  
>Haha. Yes. The love triangle is definitely there. xP But yes, Cremia and Anju will be best friends in this story. =]<br>LOL. XD That would have been hilarious! I can definitely see Granny doing that hand gesture. XDD  
>Link and Grog crossing paths... Hmm...<br>Aww! Thank you! ^_^ I really appreciate everything you said in your review, although I didn't reply to all of it. Also, I tried to read over this chapter before I posted it. I had to scan over some of it, but that's just because it's storming outside and I need to get off the computer. xD Hopefully there wasn't any typos, though. :)  
>Again, I really appreciate all of your reviews! They've really helped me - not only with this story, but as a writer. Thank you very much. :) 3<br>Oh! And I actually found a really well-written story about Grog on this site the other day. It was nice to see one like that. =]  
>Speaking of which, whenever you can, you should put that one you mentioned about him on the site. I'm sure it's lovely! ^_^<strong>

**Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter! :D**

* * *

><p>"So, what's it like working at the inn?"<p>

"It's definitely... something..." The red head laughed a bit.

"Is it hard work?" the other girl asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Sometimes, but it also gets boring as well." She shrugged. "What's it like working on the ranch?"

"Messy, but really fun." She smiled. "I enjoy it."

Anju nodded at her. She had stopped by Romani Ranch that day while her mother stood at the front desk of the Stock Pot Inn. What Catrina had said to her the week before had bothered her a lot. She wanted to have some comfort in the fact that Kafei and Cremia did _not _have feelings for each other. Besides, Cremia was a nice girl. She wouldn't try to come between the couple, would she?

Anju found that she and Cremia were more alike than they'd thought, too. They both cared about their families more than anything - and their younger siblings meant the world to them. They were both hard workers, and did everything they could to help others.

Not only that, but they both loved cuccos.

Anju had officially made her first real friend in Termina. She was beyond thankful.

"What are your plans for the wedding?" Cremia's soft voice broke into Anju's thoughts.

The girl smiled. "Well, Kafei and I are both making masks for each other to exchange on the day of our wedding. I haven't made mine yet, though." Her big, blue eyes twinkled at the thought.

"I bet it'll be great," Cremia said, trying her hardest to swallow her emotions. She wanted to be happy for Anju, she really did. The girl was nice, smart, pretty - everything Kafei could wish for. But at the same time... Cremia couldn't help but be a bit jealous. She had liked Kafei for a while now, and thought that maybe he even liked her. Ever since Anju showed up, though, she had been nothing but a dumb memory.

"We should be sending out wedding invitations soon," Anju went on. "Once we get everything planned, I'll send you one."

"Thanks."

Romani poked her head out of the bedroom door upstairs. "Are you talking about weddings?" she asked.

"Yes, Romani," Cremia answered patiently, looking over at her little sister.

"Can I talk about it too?"

Anju laughed. "Sure."

The younger girl came down the stairs, already smiling. "When I grow up, I want a wedding on the ranch!"

"Oh, really?" Cremia smiled softly at her only sibling. "What kind of dress do you want?"

"A long, green one!"

"Is this about that boy again?"

Romani's face went red.

"What boy?" Anju asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"The boy with the green hat," Cremia replied. "He comes to help us out sometimes and Romani really likes him."

Anju raised her eyebrows. Could it be Link...?

She had a feeling that maybe it was; but then again, there were plenty of boys out there with green hats. "Why do you have a crush on him, Romani?" she asked, smiling at the younger girl.

"He's really nice! And strong! And handsome!" Romani explained, her face going pinker as she went on.

"I bet." Anju winked at Cremia.

"He has really nice eyes too," Romani said dreamily. It was nice to have some girl talk for a while. She and Cremia usually avoided it, but with Anju there, it seemed easier.

"Mhmm." Cremia was grinning so wide that her cheeks hurt. It was times like this when she realized that Romani could be incredibly cute and not as annoying as usual. She glanced out the window when she heard the sound of a horse running toward the house. "Speaking of Mr. Tall, Green, and Handsome..."

Romani turned to glance over her shoulder, noticing Link immediately. "There he is!" She pointed for Anju to see.

Anju leaned over to see out the window. "That's him!" she exclaimed.

"I know," Romani said slowly. "I just told you that."

"No! I mean... that's the guy that-" She stopped herself. "He's the one who-" She wasn't sure how to say it. "It would take too long to explain. He used to help me out with my cuccos back in Kakariko Village."

"Really?" Cremia asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Maybe this is a small world."

Romani jumped up from her spot at the table and headed outside. Anju and Cremia shared a look - both thinking of how adorable Romani was - before going outside as well.

"Hi, Link!" exclaimed the little girl, grabbing her bow off of a nearby box. "Do you wanna practice shooting the aliens?"

Cremia walked up behind her sister, taking the bow out of her hands. "Sorry," she said to the taller boy standing nearby. "She always talks about the aliens. She's not trying to bother you."

Link laughed. "She wasn't." He flashed his bright smile at her before turning to Anju. "Hey."

Anju could hardly believe that she was standing in front of the boy who had once helped her with her cuccos, a long time ago. The same boy who had once helped save her brother's life. She stared at his green hat, her eyes wide. It _was _him.

"It's been a while," Link finally said, when he had gotten no reply from the innkeeper.

"Oh! Yes, it has!" She smiled. "Where have you been?" In her effort to stay calm, the girl had failed to notice that a cucco was coming straight toward her.

Link was quick to reach down and scoop the animal up in his arms, saving Anju from an allergic reaction.

"Thank you!" She bowed gratefully.

He nodded at her, before answering her earlier question, "I came here from Hyrule. I just wanted to explore a bit. Besides, Clock Town is never boring."

Navi, who was hiding under her companion's hat, rolled her eyes. She, personally, found the town nothing _but _boring. It needed more adventure, more excitement - like Hyrule.

Anju smiled, finally unable to contain what she wanted to say. "Link, my brother has been looking for you."

"Why?" Link and Cremia asked in unison. They exchanged a look.

"He tried to run away just before we moved from Kakariko Village. He wanted to stay there and wait for you to come back."

Link raised his eyebrows. How had he not known this?

Anju opened her mouth to continue, but realized that Cremia and Romani were still standing there, listening intently. If Grog didn't want them to know, then maybe she should wait until later to speak to Link about that.

"I was still in Hyrule before your family left," Link explained. "I was visiting Princess Zelda. I wasn't aware that your brother wanted to see me."

"You visited the _princess?_" Cremia asked incredulously. Apparently he was more than just a nice gentleman who helped out a lot of people.

Romani crossed her arms over her chest and looked away. "She's not so great."

"Well, my brother would like to see you," Anju told Link. "He's at the inn right now!" She knew that Grog, above everyone else in her family, needed a friend. She also knew that Link _was _that friend.

Link wanted to say yes. When someone needed his help, it was hard to deny. He was, actually, about to say yes, when Navi whispered in his ear. "You promised the Rosa Sisters you'd help them out, remember?"

Link tried not to sigh. He'd actually forgotten about that. A promise was a promise. And as long as Grog wasn't in any life or death situations, Link had to put his promises first. "I can't," he said. "I was just stopping by. I have somewhere else to be now. But I can go to the inn later." He hated declining, but he knew he had to put first things first.

Anju's expression showed disappointment, but she was still really glad that Link had said he'd visit her brother later on.

And with that, the mysterious and kind boy hopped onto his horse. "See you guys later," he said, to all three of them, waving good-bye. Epona ran gracefully and the two headed out of the ranch.

"He definitely likes me," Romani said confidently as she watched the boy with the green hat ride off into the sunset.

The two older girls laughed.

"So," Cremia said, turning her attention to the girl who was becoming her best friend, "why was Grog looking for Link?"

Anju sighed. "It's a long story." It often bothered her that her brother had once been so willing to go into the Lost Woods.

He'd said he didn't have any friends, but... didn't he know that _she _was his friend?

And when the whole thing had happened, no one had asked her how she felt about it - they had only asked her parents and her grandmother.

Mutoh, of course, thought that Grog was an idiot and that he should have stayed in the Lost Woods if he was going to be so ungrateful.

Catrina had simply reasoned that her son was just going through a stage and would get over it soon enough.

Even Granny thought that what he'd done was stupid, that he was just a "bum" and a "fool."

No one had ever asked Anju's opinion, though. No one except Link.

And if she was being honest with herself, she was heartbroken that her brother had ever felt the way he did.

"Well, I can't really blame him for trying to run away," Cremia said, thinking back to the week before when the lonely teen had raced out of the inn, a larger boy going after him.

"Yeah." Anju looked sad. She made an effort to change the subject. "How's Cojiro doing?"

"He's great. I think he misses you guys everyday, though."

Anju smiled softly. She often missed the small, blue cucco as well. He was nice - and a good judge of character, too.

She looked toward the entrance of the ranch when she saw a figure through her peripheral vision. It was hard not to notice the pale skin, the eyes so completely white that they almost scared some people, and, of course, the mohawk that stood high on his head.

"There's Grog!" Cremia exclaimed.

"_He's _your brother?" Romani sounded incredulous, looking from Grog to Anju and then back again. "Do you have the same parents?"

Cremia smacked the back of her sister's head lightly. "Romani!"

Anju looked confused. "Yes."

Grog approached them, wondering why his older sister looked confused, Cremia was blushing, and Romani had that familiar, smug look on her face.

"Oh, it's _you _again?" the little girl asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Grog blinked. There were times when he looked really sad, and there were times when he looked really cold and... well, intimidating.

To anyone who didn't know him, he would look pretty scary.

That, in fact, is _exactly _how he looked now as he stared down at Romani.

Her blue eyes went wide and she went to stand next to Cremia.

Grog looked the slightest bit surprised to see Anju there.

"I didn't know you were coming here today," Anju told him.

"Neither did I," he replied. "I didn't have any work to do at the inn, so I decided to stop by."

"Well, we were just talking about you," Cremia said with a smile.

"You were?" His quiet voice barely captured the worry he felt.

"Link just showed up!"

The second time in two weeks. Grog would admit, he was surprised that his friend was so close by, but he didn't show it. "Really?"

"Yes!" Anju exclaimed. "He had somewhere else to be, but he said he'd stop by the inn some other time and say hi to you."

Grog involuntarily shot her a look, wondering if she'd mentioned the whole Lost Woods thing in front of Cremia and Romani. "Okay."

He turned to Cremia slowly. "My dad said that I need to get another job, so..." he trailed off, glancing at the grass below him. "I was thinking maybe I could help out in the Cucco Shack. You said you couldn't care for the cuccos individually and that a bunch of them were getting sick. I figured I could help with that." He glanced back up, just knowing that she'd say no.

She had only known him for a short amount of time. Why would she trust him to take care of the cuccos?

Cremia smiled, relief flooding through her. The cuccos would finally be taken care of and she wouldn't have to spend all her time feeling guilty. "Of course you can, Grog!"

"What? No!" Romani yelled. "He's the one who was being all creepy about the cuccos the other day! Why should we trust him?"

"Because I'm a nice guy," Grog reminded her, thinking again of Cojiro.

"Romani," Cremia said sharply, giving her sister a look, "Grog is going to work here and you're going to be nice to him." She turned back to Grog apologetically. "I'm afraid I can't pay you much, though. Ever since my father..." She stopped, sighing. "I just can't pay you a whole lot. We barely have enough money as it is."

Anju and her brother exchanged a look. "It's fine," Grog said. He felt really bad for them. "You don't have to pay me."

"But I thought your dad said-"

"I know. But it's okay. I don't mind working for free." _Especially not with cuccos._

Anju smiled warmly, proud of her brother.

Cremia pulled the pale, skinny teen into a hug, making him blush. "Thank you," she whispered. It had truly been a long time since she'd met anyone as nice as Anju and Grog. She hoped that they'd live in Clock Town for a very long time.

Although Grog made no effort to hug her back, she smiled when she pulled out of the hug. "All right, Romani. Let's go. We have some work to do."

Romani nodded, rolling her eyes at Grog's scarlet cheeks. She offered Anju an innocent smile before skipping off toward the stable.

"Grog," Cremia began, "you can start work tomorrow. Depending on your shift at the inn, I'd like you to be here bright and early. Around here, everything starts at six in the morning and ends at eight at night. Got that?"

He nodded, already unsure if he liked the sound of that.

"All right. See you tomorrow." She turned to Anju. "I really enjoyed hanging out with you today. You should come back soon." She meant that, despite the whole Kafei issue.

Anju gave her a polite bow. "Thank you." She looked at her brother. "Come on, Grog. We should get home."

He nodded again and the two started out of the ranch.

The siblings were silent until they reached Termina Field. "Did Link still remember you after all this time?" Grog asked.

"Yes, he did." Anju laughed. "He even saved me from a cucco."

Grog was quiet for a while. "Do you think he'd remember me?"

"Of course he would. He already said that he'd visit you sometime soon. He must have remembered you!"

Grog stifled a sigh. A month ago, he would have wanted more than anything to see Link again. He would have said he needed a friend. But over the last month, he'd gotten more and more used to the idea of not finding the boy with the green hat. Anju was his friend as well as his sister. As long as he had her, no one else really mattered.

He'd become more comfortable with that thought recently. And besides, the thought of seeing Link again almost scared him. What do you say to a person who saved your life? Some of the nicest things that came to mind didn't even seem like enough. Grog owed Link a lot, after everything that had happened.

"Grog." His sister had the same tone of voice she'd had the night he had left Kakariko Village to go to the Lost Woods.

He immediately looked up at her.

"Why did you ever feel so lonely that you would... leave like that?" she asked, quieter than ever. The question had been bothering her for a very long time and she had never thought to ask him until now.

He stayed quiet for a while. He'd had no idea that she was so worried, that she cared enough to be worried. Back then, no one had cared - or so he'd thought.

"Anju, I-" He was interrupted by Ichiro as the two of them entered South Clock Town. "Dude, you better get home. Everyone's looking for you."

Grog narrowed his eyes. "Why would they be-"

Ichiro shrugged, walking away.

Anju looked worried and the two started toward East Clock Town at a quick pace. What they found was something that made them wish they'd stayed at the ranch.

Honey and Darling, as well as Mutoh, Catrina, Shiro, the mayor, and a guard, were standing in front of Stock Pot Inn, all looking furious. "There you are," Mutoh spat, glaring at his children.

Anju ran over to them. "What's going on?" she asked, concerned.

Catrina pulled her daughter over to her as Grog approached.

Grog's eyebrows furrowed. "What happened?"

"You should know," Shiro snarled, glaring at him.

"This is the boy," Honey said the guard, pointing. "That's him, the one who broke into our shop."

"_What?_" Grog asked in disbelief.

"That's right," Darling told him. "We know you're the one who stole the bombs last night. A window was left shattered and seven bombs were gone."

Grog's eyes widened, looking helplessly at the mayor.

"Grog wouldn't have!" Anju told them. "You don't have any proof."

"Yes, we do," Darling said. "We had a surveillance camera hidden in the shop. It captured him stealing all seven of the bombs."

"We also have proof from this young man, Shiro, that Grog has stolen things on many occasions," Honey added.

"Yeah. He stole my knife _and _my gun last week."

Grog's face was going paler, if possible.

"This can't be right," Anju said. She glared at Shiro, shoving him a bit. "_What_ did you do?"

"Nothing, Princess." Shiro laughed. "Chill out."

The guard started toward Grog with handcuffs in his hands.

Within the next five minutes, Grog was handcuffed and being taken away, Shiro was smirking, and Anju was on the verge of tears. That had not been a great day for them.

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><p><strong>Thank you <em>so <em>much for reading! Review if you liked it, please! ^_^**


	12. The Gift of a Friend

**Chapter twelve is finished! :D** **This is seriously amazing. xD This chapter took me so long to write. You have no idea how great it feels to be posting this. I wish it would have been a little bit better, but the only reason it wasn't as exciting as it could have been was because I was unsure of what to write. **

**I know how the story will end, I just didn't know how to get there. And yes. That means this story is getting very close to the end. I'm just not quite sure how far away it is. I've been writing it for over a year now, though. So, the least I can do it work harder on it for those of you who read it. :)**

**Also, I'm going to try to shorten the author's notes. Because... my sister informed me the other day that she doesn't enjoy long ANs. :P She doesn't read this story, but it did make me realize how it wouldn't hurt to shorten mine. :P I should probably start working on that now. So, if I reply to your review, and it's not a long "thank you, you rock" kind of reply, don't be offended. xD Just know I love you, you're amazing, and I appreciate all of the reviews. ^_^  
><strong>

**Lady Fai: Your review really made me smile. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far! Thank you so much for reading it and I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**

**Chaos Wielder: Haha. xD That's a nice coincidence. And either way, I'm sure your fanfiction is wonderful and I'd love to read it, if you ever felt like sending it to someone. And yes! Grog and Romani! ^_^ The fanfiction sounds perfect already. :D I hope to read it someday, once you've finished your original fiction. :) Haha. A love square. Wow. XD Thanks for reviewing! I really appreciate all of your reviews! ^_^**

**Okay. Next time... short author's note. I promise. I'll try my best. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy this chapter! ^_^**

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><p>Clock Town was a nice town, for the most part. They had an inn, many stores, and a slow, but trustworthy mail service.<p>

The people were more or less friendly and almost everyone got along.

Sounds like a town lacking nothing, right?

Wrong.

Grog soon discovered that the semi-perfect town lacked something, after all: A well put-together prison. In fact, they lacked a prison altogether.

The best place they could think to put convicts was in a small, cold room in the back of the Milk Bar.

The only things in the room were a desk for a guard, a couple chairs, and a cell.

The room was freezing and the cell didn't even come with a bed.

On the birght side, though, at least there was a toilet.

At the condition of the so-called "jail," Grog imagined that even _real _criminals would behave just to avoid going there.

That could have been the reason that Grog was the only one there that day, next to the guard.

The teen sat with his back against the wall, staring up at the old ceiling. How could this have happened? How could he be sitting in prison, of all places?

He quietly sighed, putting his head in his hands. Anju must have been so disappointed in him.

"You know, kid," the guard spoke, "if you would stay out of trouble, you wouldn't have to worry about that guilt, or even be here."

Grog didn't even try to defend the fact that not all of this was his fault. It's not like anyone would believe him.

"Your sister is really worried about you," the guard went on. "She's sent three different people here already, just to make sure you're okay."

The teen looked up. "Really?"

"Yeah. You'd better think twice next time. You actually have someone who cares about you."

Grog knew Anju cared about him, but he found it hard to believe that she wasn't the least bit angry at him.

He was in jail - and it was his own fault.

He shook his head. Maybe Anju wasn't disappointed in him, but he was disappointed in himself.

He'd let Shiro drag him into doing this. Shiro had forced him into stealing those bombs the night before; but it was him who'd actually taken them, him who had committed the crime.

The worst part? He knew his family couldn't afford to get him out of jail, so, he figured he'd be stuck in there for a long, _long _time.

He leaned his head against the wall. What was he going to do?

The guard looked up from where he was reading the Clock Town newspaper when he heard someone knock on the door. He stood up and opened it.

A woman stood there - a woman with brown hair and fancy clothes. A woman named Julie Jones.

Her heels clicked loudly on the floor as she stepped into the room.

Grog recognized the unnerving sound immediately and tried not to groan.

He looked away when she approached the cell.

She would only make things worse. All she would do was tell him what a terrible person he was. She'd just remind him that he'd let his own sister down.

"Young man," she said, trying to get him to turn around. He ignored her. "Young man," she repeated, this time more firm. "It's common courtesy that when someone addresses you, you reply."

Grog stiffly turned to look at her. "Why? So you can tell me how much of an idiot I am?" He glared at her. "You have no reason to be here."

He'd expected her to glare back at him, but instead, she looked almost sorrowful. She sat down in a chair next to the cell. "What's your name, young man?"

He stared at her as though she had three ears on her nose. "Grog," he answered slowly.

"Grog," she repeated. "My name is Julie Jones."

"I know."

"You don't have to be here," she went on.

"Yeah, neither do you," he shot back.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not here as a guest at the inn, Grog. Now, whether I'm here as a friend or your worst nightmare... that's up to you."

Grog looked away again. He didn't want to talk to her. All she would do was tear him down emotionally just so he could go home in a few years and have Mutoh's workers tear him down literally.

"Grog, I don't know why you're here, but I do know that you don't belong here."

His eyes widened. "What?" He turned to face her. That was the _last _thing he'd expected her to say.

"You may be terribly annoying, very disrespectful, lazy, and you look like you were born in a barn... but I know a good heart when I see one." It looked like it was hard, almost painful, for her to say something so nice, but she sounded so sincere. "I can tell that you genuniely care for your sister and that's something people don't see very much these days."

Actually, if truth be told, seeing how much he cared for Anju had inspired her to reunite with her younger sister from Hyrule.

Grog sat there, staring at the hard, cold floor. That was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said about him. And it was _Julie Jones _who'd said it, of all people.

Finally, someone other than Link and Cremia had seen past how he looked on the outside. He'd always told everyone he was a nice guy and now someone actually believed him.

Julie Jones, surprsingly, managed a smile, although it looked more like a smirk. "So, how come you don't want your sister to marry the mayor's son?"

He looked up. "How did you know that?"

"I saw your face the day she told you that they're engaged."

Grog sighed. "It was that obvious?"

She nodded. "So? Why don't you like him?"

Grog shook his head. "He's a jerk. Anju deserves someone better than him."

"Really?" She seemed surprised. "He's always seemed like a nice young man."

"Yeah? Well, looks can be decieving."

"Well, regardless of why you don't like him, you should at least give him another chance." She paused. "Your sister is very smart, right?"

"Yeah. One of the smartest people I know."

Julie smiled softly at him. "Then trust her judgment. I'm sure she wouldn't pick a guy who isn't a wonderful person."

Grog sighed. "I just don't trust him."

"But she does. Give him one more chance - for her."

That last part seemed to ring in his head the most...

_"For her."_

Everything inside of him told him not to trust Julie Jones.

But at the same time, a voice somewhere in his mind said that she was right.

Finally, he looked at her and spoke, "Thank you, Mrs. Jones."

Her smile turned into a smirk again and a serious look appeared in her eyes. "Don't think this changes anything," she told him. "You're still a pain in the rear end as well as a terrible innkeeper."

Grog managed a sincere half smile. "And you're still the most annoying person I've met since Tingle."

She grinned and winked before standing up and heading out of the room.

The guard shot Grog a confused look before going back to reading his newspaper.

A minute later, the door came open again and Grog wondered if maybe he was more popular than he thought.

The postman appeared in the doorway. "Hello, sir," he greeted the guard, looking almost nervous to be there.

"Hello." The guard stood up, noticing that the man was apparently too scared of prisoners to step into the room. "Can I help you?"

"Y-Yes. I'm here to deliver a letter. I-It's for you." He held out a blue envelope for the guard to take.

The guard took it and the postman hurried out of there.

" 'Dear Viscen,' " the guard read aloud, " 'Here in the envelope is the rupees to get Grog out of jail. You must release him immediately. He's a good kid. Don't ever arrest him again. _-A friend._' "

Grog's eyes went wide. Who could it be?

It definitely wasn't Anju. She would have pleaded more with the guard for him to release her brother. Not only that, but she would have actually signed her name.

And it wasn't Cremia either. She wouldn't have the money.

But maybe... No. It was definitely not Julie Jones.

The guard opened the cell and Grog was on his feet in seconds. "Can I see that?" he asked, taking the letter from the guard. His eyes immediately went to the name scribbled on the bottom of the paper: _A friend._

He was sure of who it was now. It was definitely Link.

"Thank you," he said to the guard, handing him the letter back.

"I don't ever want to see you in here again, Grog!" the guard called after him, but it was too late - Grog was already out of there.

Upon leaving, Grog nearly ran into Link, who was waiting outside of the Milk Bar.

His eyes were wide as he stared at the hero in disbelief.

Link greeted him with a kind smile, but said nothing.

Grog nodded slowly. For so many years, he'd wanted to see Link again. Link was the only friend he'd ever had, next to Anju.

Of course, since his days in Kakariko Village, Grog had made another friend - Cremia. But his connection with Link was slightly different.

Link had saved his life.

So many thoughts raced through his mind that he didn't even realize he'd not been saying anything.

Link laughed. "Anju told me that you'd been looking for me."

"Yeah." Grog didn't know what to say. What _could _he say? "Thanks."

"For what?" Link asked, confused.

"For everything." He tried to smile, but he didn't look so sure about his happiness.

Link returned the smile. "So, how's life?"

Grog willed himself not to snort. "Great," he said sarcastically. "I just got out of jail, my sister is going to marry the second biggest jerk on the planet, and the first biggest jerk won't let me catch a break."

Link looked concerned. "I know. I've seen Shiro chasing you around town a few times."

Grog's face went red. Not a lot had changed over the years. He still couldn't save himself from whatever was chasing him - whether it was fears, loneliness, or even a person. He glanced at Link and found that Link didn't look as though he thought the same thing. Link only looked worried for his friend's well-being.

_Just like old times._

"Don't worry," the blond boy began, "I'll help you out if Shiro and his gang ever give you anymore trouble."

"No." Grog shook his head, looking determined. "I'll deal with them. I need _you _to help protect Anju."

"Why?" Link's eyebrows went up. "Is she in danger?"

"I'm not sure," Grog explained. "I've been having nightmares about my father's servants going after her. I don't know..."

Link nodded, looking courageous. Grog admired this about the other boy. How could one person be so fearless? "I'll protect Anju," he said. "I promise."

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><p>Anju stood at the desk in the Stock Pot Inn. This would have been a peaceful day, if it weren't for Grog getting arrested. Her only brother was in jail now. And she couldn't pull her mind away from the thought of him being locked up in some sort of cage, helpless against any other tough criminal.<p>

She wiped away a small tear from the corner of her eye. No. He had to be okay. She had to get him out of there.

Suddenly, the front door of the inn swung open and Kafei walked in, hurrying over to Anju. "I heard about Grog," he said.

She tried to smile. Seeing Kafei always made her day better, but she couldn't stop from actually shedding a few tears when he leaned over the counter and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting manner. "He shouldn't be there," she cried.

"I know," Kafei replied with a soft voice. "I know." He stroked her hair with his fingers, feeling terrible that she was so upset.

"Why did they have to arrest him?" she questioned. "It probably wasn't even his fault. I bet it was Shiro."

Kafei nodded. "It's okay, Anju," he told her, trying to calm her down. "They should be letting him go soon."

Her eyes widened and she gasped a bit, pulling out of the hug. "What? How?"

"I sent Viscen a letter. He knows my handwriting. I told him to release Grog at once. I'm sure he has by now."

Anju's tears of sadness quickly turned into tears of happiness and she engulfed Kafei in another hug. "Oh, Kafei!" she exclaimed. "Thank you!"

He smiled.

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><p>"So... I came to Clock Town for a change," Link finished. He and Grog were sitting on the bench near the Stock Pot Inn, catching up on what the two of them had missed over the last few years.<p>

Grog flahsed him a grin. "Well, this town's definitely not boring."

Link nodded in agreement.

"What have-" Grog was interrupted when Shiro and Ichiro came storming over to them.

Shiro leaned down so that he'd be eye level with Grog. "Heard your sister's wedding is soon," he said.

Grog narrowed his eyes at the larger boy. "So?"

"_So, _just thought I'd let you know that the wedding's been cancelled."

The pale teen snorted. "Yeah, right. Anju loves Kafei. She would never cancel the wedding."

"No, but _I _would," Shiro replied. "Look, I'm going to make sure that Kafei doesn't get to that wedding. And you better not show up either. You don't even want to _know_ what will happen if you do."

Link leaned forward a bit, about to speak up, but Grog held up a hand. "If you mess up my sister's wedding, you'll be sorry," he warned.

Shiro glared at him, but smirked. "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you."

"And why is that?"

"Because the wedding _won't_ be messed up. _I'll _be the one marrying your sister."

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><p><strong>Just a quick FYI, I really love Tingle. xD And he's not annoying at all. But I imagine he'd annoy Grog quite a bit. :P And I couldn't help but put Mrs. Jones in here for one final appearance. I thought that would be the perfect time to tie up loose ends between her and Grog.<br>**

**Also, this chapter was kind of mellow compared to the other chapters. That will definitely change in the next few chapters, though. :)  
><strong>

**Anyway, thanks for reading! Review if you like it, please! :D**


	13. Rehearsal Dinner Gone Wrong

**Hi! ^_^ Thank God I finished this yesterday! :) I wanted to finish the chapter and upload it on Halloween, but I didn't have the time. Then NaNoWriMo started and this month has been pretty busy for me. But I'm so close to the end of this story. At first it was exciting, but now I'm getting a bit nostalgic. xD I've grown so much as a person and a writer since this fic began... Well, I just love it on more than one level and I appreciate each and every one of you who has ever read, reviewed, followed, or added this to your favorites. Thank you! 3**

**To shorten my author's notes, I'm going to only reply to anonymous reviews on the ANs. ^_^ The others I'll reply to via PM. :D Sooo, special shout outs to Lady Fai and Ceu Praca for reviewing on the last chapter. I'm so glad you guys liked it! ^_^**

**This chapter is probably the most eventful chapter in the whole story so far. xD This is definitely a nice change from the last chapter I wrote, so I hope you guys enjoy it! ^_^**

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><p>"Ouch! Mother!"<p>

Catrina sighed. "Stop whining, Anju."

"The bow is too tight!" the red head explained, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a long, black dress that looked very nice on her. She'd gotten it a year or two ago, but, much to her surprise, it still fit.

Her hair was pulled back with a hairband and everything about her looked perfect - except the bow.

Her mother had insisted she wear the ugly thing.

It looked fine - like a purple band around her waist - in the front. But the bow tied in the back was a whole different story. It was huge and utterly humiliating.

"I wore that bow at my rehearsal dinner and your grandmother did the same. So, you'll wear it too," Catrina had said.

Anju finally agreed, but that didn't mean she liked it.

"I think it looks fine," Granny told her with a wink. "You'll be stunning the other guys while impressing your fiance."

Anju shook her head. _They all might go running when they see that unappealing bow - even Kafei._

"There." Catrina glanced over at her daughter in the mirror, making sure she looked perfect. The woman was only going to the rehearsal dinner for her daughter. She still hated Kafei.

But, after all, she knew she needed to support Anju, no matter what the decision. So, she'd suck it up. For now.

But maybe Anju would change her mind before the wedding tomorrow. That was a comforting thought.

"Come on," she said to her mother-in-law. "Let's give Anju some time alone before we have to leave." She began pushing the elderly woman toward the door.

Just as they reached it, it swung open and Grog stepped in. He actually looked quite handsome. The suit he was wearing now looked more fitting than the one he'd worn to the banquet.

Anju shuddered at the thought of that awkward, terrible night and turned her attention to how charming her younger brother looked now as he stood in the room. His suit was black, but this time he wore a yellow tie - his usual colors.

"Grog, don't you think your sister looks hot?" asked Granny as she was being wheeled out of the room. "Won't she impress _all _the boys?"

"I guess so...?" Grog looked completely confused. He cast Anju a sideways glance, smirking. "But I was kind of thinking she'd only want to impress _Kafei. _She is marrying _him, _after all."

Anju rolled her eyes, trying to fight the soft smile that was slowly appearing on her face.

"Maybe," Granny replied with a shrug. "But, dear, leave the older ones for me." She flashed her grandchildren a sneaky grin before exiting the room with Catrina.

Anju giggled as Grog slowly shook his head.

They stood in silence for a moment, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

Anju found herself surprised at how far she, and her brother, had come since they'd first moved to Clock Town.

Grog no longer wanted to be lost, he wasn't trying to run away, he'd found Link, and he seemed to be content.

Anju had been reunited with her first real love. She had gotten engaged and she was happier now than she had been in years.

Everything was perfect.

Grog, although not showing it, thought otherwise.

Everything was _not _perfect.

And it wasn't just the fact that his sister was about to marry the second biggest jerk in all of Termina.

No. There was something else.

He wasn't sure what yet, but something - something big - was about to happen. Shiro's creepy threats hadn't ceased and Grog had even invited Link to the rehearsal dinner in case anything weird _did_ happen.

He wouldn't let Anju know he felt that way, though.

This night was important to her and he couldn't worry her with his silly suspicions.

Before he even had time to react, she had pulled him into a big hug. "Thanks, Grog," she whispered.

He slowly returned the hug, confused. "For what?"

"For supporting me, for being my brother... for being here."

He knew very well that she didn't "here" as in that room.

She meant _alive._

He'd known for many years that his decision to go into the Lost Woods that time...

Well, he'd really scared Anju. She was the only one on Earth who'd ever cared about him and he'd let her down that day.

He _still _regretted it.

But here she was, thanking him for living, for still being alive.

And now that he thought about it, he was thankful to _be _alive.

She pulled out of the hug and looked him in the eyes. "Grog, I know you don't like Kafei, but thank you for supporting our engagement, anyway. It means the world to me."

Grog managed a small chuckle, but didn't say anything. He really didn't know _what _to say.

Anju smiled. She had so much more to say, but she knew that they needed to get going. "Let's go downstairs. I need to speak with everyone."

Grog nodded and they headed to the main room of the inn, where their family, and Mutoh's carpenters, were waiting.

Anju hadn't invited Shiro and his gang to the rehearsal dinner, but Mutoh had insisted they come in yet another one of his attempts to impress the mayor.

It wasn't up for discussion - everyone knew that.

But that didn't mean she wouldn't be laying down some rules.

"Okay, everyone," Anju began, sounding confident. "You all know I love you very much, but tonight _will not _go like the banquet. You guys acted disrespectfully to Kafei's family and to each other that night. But tonight ca-"

Granny was the first to interrupt her, "Well, Catrina started the whole thing. You can't blame everyone else for her _stupid _choices."

"Me?!" Catrina looked as though smoke would come out of her ears at any moment. "_You're _the one who can't even remember what day it is!"

"Hey! Don't talk to my mother that way!" Mutoh chimed in, his voice loud.

"Ichiro's stupid!" Jiro shouted, a grin plastered onto his face.

"Not as stupid as you, you dork!" Ichiro shot back, glaring at his "friend."

Shiro had a smug look on his face as he leaned against the wall and Sabooro looked completely lost as he stood in the midst of all the commotion.

Anju tried, several times, to speak over them, but they only got louder. The devastation written on her face was nothing compared to how she felt. Tonight was supposed to be perfect and yet her family couldn't even get along _before _they left the inn. "They're going to disturb the guests," she whispered to Grog, who looked about as frustrated as she felt.

He sighed, wondering what it'd feel like to have a _normal _family. _Must be nice, _he thought sullenly.

He hesitated at first - after all, something like this could get him into serious trouble. But he knew he needed to help Anju. "Listen to her!" he finally yelled, louder than he'd ever been, louder than anyone in that room.

They all shut up at once and the silence in the room was deafening. All heads turned to him.

After a short pause, he spoke, quieter this time, "Anju was right. None of you respect each other. All she's asking is that you get along for _one _night. But we haven't even left the inn yet and you're already arguing." He glared at them, but didn't once raise his voice again. "So, shut your mouths and act like civilized human beings for once. Do it for Anju."

They were all silent for a while. Grog was half-expecting them to ignore him and jump right back into their dumb arguments.

But that never happened.

Instead, everyone else kept their mouths shut for so long that Shiro was the first to speak. He started toward Grog, his hands clenched into fists. "You think you can boss everyone around?" he snarled, his voice low. "Well, no o-"

Anju stopped him when he got really close to Grog and Grog didn't back up, not even one step, this time. "No," she said firmly, glaring up at him. "There will be _none _of that tonight either. You're going to leave my brother alone."

Shiro grinned widely at her. "Whatever you say, Princess."

She backed away from him, almost looking disgusted.

"We need to get going," Catrina finally said after a short pause. "We don't want to be late."

They all poured out of the building and Anju smiled gratefully at Grog. "Thanks," she whispered.

Grog gave her a half smile before she went to talk to Granny as they walked.

Mutoh slowed to walk in the back beside his only son and Grog just _knew _he'd be in some sort of trouble. But once again, he was wrong.

Mutoh looked like he was going to say something, but also looked like he could puke at any moment. Finally, after a long silence, he spoke, giving Grog a hard pat on the back, "Good job, kid."

It was only three simple words and yet they were the nicest three words Mutoh had ever said to him.

He was actually kind of proud of his earlier outburst now, although he'd never admit it out loud.

* * *

><p>The rehearsal dinner was being held in the same place the banquet had been in, but in a different room.<p>

This room had dark walls and a dark carpet to match. It had nice lanterns lighting the room and a large selection of food. Like the banquet room, it had many tables scattered about and very nice curtains.

The main difference between this and the banquet was that there were no strangers here. Everyone was either friends and family of Kafei or friends and family of Anju.

But from the looks of the large, crowded room, Kafei had a huge family and _a lot_ of friends.

Anju smiled nervously as she stepped into the room with her family. At least they looked more dressed up and well-behaved this time.

"Anju, you're beautiful," came a voice from close by. It was Kafei. he came over to them and Anju engulfed him in a big hug.

"All of you look great tonight, really," he said, addressing the rest of her family and the workers.

"Whatever," Shiro said with a snort before he and his friends walked off to go pester some other people.

Kafei politely ignored them before turning to Anju. "Come on. I want you to meet some people."

She nodded, her expression jovial, and followed him over to a large group of people.

"Come on, Mom," Mutoh said. "Let's go take a seat somewhere."

Catrina followed them over to a vacant table.

Grog, now alone, scanned the room for any familiar faces. He didn't really feel like talking to any of Kafei's family at the moment. But, of course, that's when Mr. Dotour appeared next to the teen.

"Hello, Grog," the older man greeted with a warm smile.

"Hi, Mr. Dotour." He scanned the room once again for any sign of Link. He was still worried about Shiro's threats and he needed someone to help him keep an eye on Anju.

"If you're looking for your friends from the ranch, they're over there." The mayor pointed across the room to a handful of round, elegant-looking tables. Just next to one of the few tables stood Link and Romani, both of them dressed in green.

"Thank you, sir," Grog said before heading over to his friends. He nearly smiled when he realized that the word "friend" had gone plural for him.

_What a nice change, _he thought, a bit happy.

"Hey, Grog," Link greeted when his friend approached them.

Grog nodded in acknowledgment.

"Nice place, isn't it?" Link tried to appear conversational, but he felt as uneasy as Grog did. Something was off about that night.

Romani, however, was oblivious to the fact and stared up at Link dreamily. "Yeah... It is."

Link attempted to move away from the small girl, but her grip on his arm was tight and she wouldn't let go.

"So how's Anju?" he asked, turning his attention back to his quiet friend.

Grog was staring blankly across the room at his older sister. She was holding Kafei's hand tightly while the two of them talked to numerous, well-dressed, unfamiliar people in the crowded room. "She's fine - happy, even." His white eyes finally met Link's blue ones. "And it needs to _stay _that way."

Link nodded, remembering the first of Shiro's threats - the one about _him _marrying Anju instead of Kafei.

Even though Grog couldn't stand the mayor's son, he liked the boy with the purple hair _a lot _better than he liked Shiro.

"Grog? I didn't know you were here!"

Grog recognized Cremia's voice immediately and turned to greet her.

His breath caught in his throat when he spotted her. Her long, red hair was put up into a beautiful, elegant-looking bun and she was wearing a long, purple dress that flowed down to the floor.

She was breathtakingly stunning and Grog was left speechless.

He could feel his face heating up and he had to look at the floor to actually speak. "Yeah. Anju's really excited."

He glanced back up only to find that she was staring, almost sorrowfully, across the room at Anju and her fiance. "So is Kafei."

He suddenly realized that maybe his mother had been right. Maybe Cremia _did _have feelings for Kafei. He could see it all over her face.

The realization hit him like a punch in the stomach and he didn't know what to do. "I've gotta get some air," he said weakly, pulling at the collar of his suit. He turned without another word and headed toward the exit.

He didn't _want _to be angry with Cremia, but he couldn't help it. How could she have feelings for Kafei? And why would she be acting so nice to Anju if she did? Was she planning to sabotage the wedding? And if not, and she knew that Anju and Kafei were in love, why didn't she just get over it? That was the right thing to do, anyway.

He tried to stop the questions that were flooding through his mind, but they only kept coming.

He left the building and stepped out into the cool, night air, glad to be away from the noise, the people, and Cremia.

* * *

><p>Anju stood up from where she'd been sitting with Kafei and his parents. "Excuse me," she said politely. "I'm going to go get something to drink. Would any of you like something?" She hadn't noticed when Grog left and therefore wasn't really too concerned about her own family or what they were doing.<p>

She had only been sitting down at the table for a moment, but she was already enjoying the company of Kafei and his laid back parents. They were a lot calmer than her family.

Mayor Dotour and his son shook their heads at her offer, but Madame Aroma nodded. "Yes. Could you get me some Chateau Romani, sweetie?"

"Of course." Anju smiled and headed over to the desserts and beverages. Someone had set up some nice tables surrounding the drink machine. There were drinks for all ages set up on the tables, but drinks such as Chateau Romani were set up high in the drink machines to make sure that no small children got a hold of the stuff.

Anju selected a nice glass of water for herself before getting Madame Aroma's milk.

"I must say, that's a nice choice," came a voice from behind her.

"Oh, that's not for me. It's for-" She stopped when she turned around, holding both drinks in her hands.

Shiro was standing there, smirking at her with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

She was annoyed even in spite of the fact she suddenly felt uncomfortable. He was already acting a little weird, not to mention that he was blocking her only way back to the table - or her only way anywhere, for that matter.

She was beginning to wish that someone had put the drink machines a little closer to the other tables - and not in a corner everyone barely noticed.

"Well, I better get back to my table," Anju said after a few moments of nothing but awkward silence.

"No," Shiro replied, smirking even more now.

Anju sighed. "Shiro, stop it. I don't have time for this. I have to g-"

"You're going to marry me."

She studied his face, not sure if she'd heard him right. He didn't seem to be joking and he hadn't lost his mind, so... What was going on?

"I'm marrying Kafei," she said softly, not wanting to anger him. "You know that."

He shook his head. "No - you've got it all wrong," he told her, serious. "You _will _marry me. There's no doubt in my mind about it." Anju only glared at him, so he continued, "Tonight, when no one is looking for you, we'll sneak out of this place and run off together. We'll get married in Termina Field before heading back to Hyrule, where _no one _will find us."

Her crystal blue eyes were wide and, if she hadn't been, holding two drinks, she would have put her hands on her hips. "Look, Shiro, you'd have to be crazy to think I would ever agree to such a thing. I _love _Kafei."

"Oh, but you will agree."

"_What _makes you th-"

He interrupted her, smirking again and looking dangerous. "You'll agree , because if you don't, you'll never see Grog again."

"What?" she questioned, somewhat confused. Technically, either way, she'd never see him again; but she decided not to mention it.

"Let me make this clear for you," Shiro said, his voice low as he took a step toward her. "If you don't say yes, Grog will be dead."

She gasped and both glasses in her hands fell to the floor, shattering loudly.

* * *

><p>Link, Cremia, and Romani watched as Grog headed out of the building.<p>

"Was it something I said?" Cremia asked, looking worried.

Link shook his head. He'd seen Grog's face when the pale teen looked at Cremia and he'd seen Cremia as she stared at Kafei. It was obvious what was going on here.

Cremia sighed. "Something's going on. We need to go find him," she said to Link. He nodded and she turned to Romani. "Stay here. We'll be right back."

She and Link started in the direction of the exit. "I hope he's all right," she said, looking genuinely concerned. "I mean, he's already been going through-" She stopped at the sound of glass shattering close by.

The two stopped in their tracks, their eyes widening. Making an unspoken, snap decision, the two of them turned and raced in the direction of the noise.

They were nearly around the dessert table when they heard Anju and Shiro.

"You wouldn't!" It was Anju. She sounded beyond upset - maybe even close to tears.

"I would." Shiro sounded very serious about whatever it was. "Grog has caused me enough trouble as it is. I would have no problem taking care of him - permanently." He grinned, a crazy look in his eyes.

Link and Cremia, both smothering gasps, stepped around the tables, one of them on either side of Shiro.

"Talking about anything you'd like to share with the rest of the class?" Cremia glanced at Shiro, crossing her arms over her chest.

Link put a firm hand on the older boy's shoulder, silently daring him to try anything funny.

The color slowly returned to Anju's face and she let out a sigh of relief.

Shiro shrugged Link's hand off his shoulder. He glared at Anju. "You just wait." He turned and walked away, not giving anyone a chance to say anything else.

Link turned back to Anju. "Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded, breathing heavily now. "Thank you guys so much. He was threatening to..." she trailed off, the deep pool of concern returning in her eyes. "Where's Grog?"

"Outside," Cremia replied, her eyebrows furrowing. "Why?"

Anju didn't answer - she only raced toward the exit praying she'd get there before Shiro did.

Link and Cremia followed wordlessly, wondering what was _really _going on.

Anju was outside in seconds, her eyes darting from place to place in search of Grog.

She found him leaning against the side of the building, his hands in his pockets.

"Grog!" She let out the breath she'd been holding as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Are you all right?" Cremia asked as she and Link appeared behind their friend.

"I'm fine," he replied, confused. "Why? What's going on?" He could barely breathe while Anju suffocated him with the humongous hug.

Anju pulled him away from her to study his face and he immediately noticed that she was close to tears.

He glanced at Link. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," Link answered. He wanted to be honest, but he knew he couldn't tell Grog what Shiro had said. Grog had enough to worry about as it was.

Anju gripped her brother's hand as though he'd disappear if she didn't. She stepped toward the door. "Come on. Let's go inside. Why were you out here, anyway?"

Cremia shot Grog a questioning look, which he gladly avoided. "Yeah. Why did you come out here?"

"I told you, I needed some air," he responded quietly.

"Well, just try to stay close by tonight, okay?" Anju wore a look of concern - one that made him feel like he was eight years old again, coming home after his first fight with Shiro. He remembered his sister's face that night. He'd never felt so helpless and she'd never looked so worried.

He wondered now, though, what she had to be worried about. Tonight was supposed to be wonderful for her. She was supposed to be inside, spending time with her fiance.

At that moment, a chilling scream came from inside the building. Anju's blood ran cold. Shiro was probably in there putting even _more _people in danger.

Link, back into hero mode now, yanked the door open and raced inside.

Cremia, Grog, and Anju followed him closely and stopped in surprise when they laid eyes on the scene before them.

Chandeliers all across the room had fallen from the ceiling and landed on the tables, shattering only inches away from terrified people.

Romani ran over to her sister and friends.

"What's going on?" Cremia questioned worriedly.

"Romani thinks it might be Them."

"The aliens?" Cremia was incredulous. "No way!"

Romani pouted. "It's definitely Them! Right, Grasshopper?"

He had no time to answer, because that was when the sound of a gun shot echoed throughout the room and a bunch of people screamed.

"A gun!" one man was yelling as he ran past Link and the others. "He's got a gun!"

"Who?" Link asked calmly, grabbing the frenetic guy by the arms to get his attention.

"Him!" The man jerked his arms free to point to a tallish figure standing in the back of the room, wearing a dark mask.

Anju narrowed her eyes. "Relax. It's just Shiro trying to-"

She stopped when another shot was fired and everyone screamed again. Simultaneously, everyone began running around in the room, screaming, in a panic.

"Shiro _what?_" Grog tried to shout over the screams.

"Shiro's right there!" Cremia told them, pointing. He was ducking beneath a table, with a few other scared people, looking absolutely terrified.

Link, after assessing the situation, turned to his friends and began barking out orders, just as another gun shot was fired, "Cremia and Romani, try to get some people _calmly _out of here. Make them stay low - that guy is still shooting. Anju and Grog, i need you two to find the mayor and his family. They're the wealthiest people in Clock Town - these people could be after them. Get the Dotours out of here safely, no matter what." His blue eyes met Grog's entirely white ones. "Protect them with your life."

The hero of time actually hated asking someone else to take on such a great task, but he knew that more important things needed to be done.

And he had to be the one to do them.

Anju, Cremia, and Grog nodded, but Romani seemed unsure. "What are _you _going to do, Grasshopper?"

"I'm going to go stop the guy with the gun and save most of Clock Town." He grinned, his bright smile lighting up the room even in the midst of chaos. "Piece of cake."

Romani hugged her hero tightly. "I love you, Link," she told them, not the least bit embarrassed about it.

He gave her a small hug as well, smiling softly. "I love you too." It was true.

Her face lit up like the town during the Carnival of Time and he was sure she'd be happy for _at least _the next seven years. She pulled out of the hug before turning around and shouting at some people to get their butts out of the building and stop crying like babies.

Cremia laid a gentle hand on Link's shoulder. "Good luck," she said before turning to help her sister.

"Thank you, Link," Anju told him sincerely, looking deep into his eyes. "Thank you for everything. If it weren't for you, Grog might not be here right now."

Link grinned at the two of them. "It was no problem." Without another word, he turned, dashing toward the gunman with surprising speed.

Anju grabbed Grog's arm, pointing across the room in the opposite direction. "There's Kafei and his family! We've gotta go help them!"

He moved his arm out of her grasp. "No," he said, his head lowered as he stared at the floor. "I'm not going."

Anju's eyes were wide. "What? Why not?"

He couldn't bring himself to look up at her, to say no to her again. He knew she could protect the Dotours' lives on her own. But he also knew that the mysterious shooter was not there for them. "I'm going to help Link," he responded quietly. "He saved my life. I owe him."

"Grog-" Anju began, but he cut her off.

"I'm sorry, Anju," he whispered. He looked her in the eyes before turning and running off after Link.

He was going as fast as his feet could carry him, pushing people out of the way to get to Link and the shooter.

He was over halfway there when, suddenly, someone reached out from his right and grabbed him, jerking him over to whoever it was. A knife was held to his throat and he had no idea who was behind him.

_This is bad, _he thought when he noticed no one could see him from there. No one knew he was in danger.

"Say good night," a voice whispered to him.

"Wha-" he began, but never got to finish.

Something had hit him on the back of the head, _hard._

He felt a sharp pain and thought again of Anju and Link's safety as he struggled to stay awake. But he could no longer fight it and heard maniacal laughter just before he blacked out.

* * *

><p><strong>Dun dun dun! o_O<strong>

**Thanks so much for reading! You're awesome! ^_^**


	14. Letting Go

**Hi! ^_^ This chapter has actually been finished for a whil****e now, but since it was so long, I hadn't made time to update it. I'll try to start updating this a lot more, especially since it only has about 2-4 (maybe five, but that's _maybe_) chapters left. It's probably more along the lines of two or three. I've had so much fun with this story. It'll be nice to finally finish it. :)**_  
><em>

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who's still reading this! And thanks to Lady Fai for reviewing the last chapter! ^_^ I hope you guys enjoy this! :D**

* * *

><p>The Stock Pot Inn was busier than ever on that cold, terrifying night. With all of East Clock Town shaken up by the shooting, everyone had headed to the closest, safest place there was: The inn.<p>

Viscen and a few of the town's guards had gone to arrest the shooter, but when he was no where to be found, they'd gone searching for him.

A couple guards stayed behind at the Stock Pot Inn, just in case the gunman decided to come back for the mayor.

They'd locked all the doors and windows and crowded into the tiny living room. People, especially ones who'd come from afar, were begging to make reservations at the inn for the night.

The tension and fear could be felt just in the air alone and Anju shuddered from where she stood behind the counter, looking perplexed. Everyone was talking at once and she wasn't sure who to answer first.

Not to mention the fact that all the events of the night had caused her enough stress already.

Kafei stood next to her the whole time, rubbing her back in that comforting way he had.

She didn't want to turn all these people away - especially not if they were Kafei's friends and family - but she knew she had to. They were booked solid with reservations already. The Carnival of Time was the next day and everyone in town was so busy as it was.

The red head sighed. "I'm terribly sorry," she finally spoke, loud enough to get everyone's attention, "but we don't have enough rooms for all of you. The inn is completely full. You will have to find someplace else to stay."

Kafei could tell it was breaking her heart to turn them down, so, he quickly jumped in. "Some of you are welcome to stay at the Mayor's Residence, if you'd like," he offered.

Many complaints and opinions all around the room were voiced.

"It's not safe there! Wasn't that killer after _your _father?"

"Isn't this an inn? You're _supposed _to have rooms available!"

"Yeah! I'd rather sleep on the streets!"

Anju turned to her fiance, her eyebrows knitting together with concern. "Kafei, you can't go back to your home. It's too dangerous." She had a pleading look in her eyes - one that told him he'd only be hurting her if he went back to his house.

"I'll stay here for tonight, then," he promised. "But I can't hide forever. My mask is at home and our wedding is tomorrow."

At the thought of the wedding, and her unfinished mask, Anju could feel the anxiety growing to the point it was almost overwhelming. She opened her mouth to say something, but she spotted someone through her peripheral vision before she could.

It was Shiro. He was leaning against the wall, staring straight at her with a vicious smirk on his face.

Suddenly, their conversation from earlier came flooding back into her mind, only adding to her pile of worries.

Without warning, tears welled up in her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks. She was quick to turn and hurry out of the room before anyone saw her.

Kafei was the only one to notice. He followed her into the hallway, past the point of worried. "Anju," he said softly, "what's wrong?" He put a hand under her chin, gently moving her head up, but she refused to look at him.

She shook her head, unable to speak due to the tears.

Kafei stared down at his fiance. He would do anything to make her happy, but he knew he couldn't do that until he found out what was wrong. "Anju..."

She slowly sank to her knees on the floor, the weight of everything coming down on her shoulders.

He crouched down in front of her, taking her hands into his own. "What's going on? Why are you so upset?" He moved the hair out of her blue eyes, praying she'd tell him the truth.

She sniffled, trying unsuccessfully to stop crying. He had a hard time understanding what she was saying, but he picked out a few words, like: Wedding, scared, shooter, Grog, and Shiro.

"The wedding will be fine," he began slowly. "And I know you were scared, but it's okay now. We're all safe. We're okay." He knelt down in front of her and pulled her into a comforting hug, gently rubbing her back, wanting more than anything for he to be okay.

He thought again of the last two words he'd understood: Grog and Shiro.

He sighed, almost sure she was upset about the two boys fighting again. "What did Shiro do this time? Is Grog okay?" It suddenly dawned on him that he hadn't seen Grog since Anju's family had first arrived at the rehearsal dinner.

She shook her head, beginning to cry even harder now, shaking uncontrollably in his arms.

His eyes widened. He'd been with her on many occasions in Kakariko Village when Grog would come home after fighting with Shiro. Her brother would be in a terrible condition, sometimes barely able to stand, and even then Anju had never been so upset. Something big must have happened this time.

"How badly is he hurt? Should I call a doctor?" He pulled out of the hug, examining her face.

She shook her head again, but she was hardly able to speak. He'd never seen her act like this - and he'd known her since they were very young. Shiro must have done something far worse than he'd ever done so far. Kafei's blood was boiling now.

Anju, forcing herself to calm down, finally took a deep breath. "K-Kafei..." It wasn't so much that she was worried about something that had already happened, but she feared something terrible would happen if she didn't make her choice.

Her fiance looked up, pure concern and love written all over his face. "Yes, Anju?"

"We..." She wiped away more tears that threatened to fall. "We need to cancel the wedding."

He was feeling a bit heartbroken at first, but the anger washed all of his sorrow down the drain. Shiro had said or done something - something terrible. And he wasn't about to let one guy ruin his life and tear him away from the only woman he'd ever really loved.

"I'll be right back," he whispered to Anju as calmly as possible. He was on his feet in seconds, storming past her and into the main room, looking around for any sign of Shiro.

"Maybe some of you could stay at the ranch?" Cremia was offering.

Complaints arose, just as they'd done earlier. Many of the townsfolk were afraid to enter the ranch after eight o'clock at night. Romani's stories of "Them" had scared everyone away long ago.

Kafei scanned over the crowded room, but didn't see Shiro anywhere.

He turned, still fuming, to go search elsewhere.

That's when he heard a creaking sound on the stairs.

He whirled around and bounded up them, reaching the person immediately. "Shiro," he growled, fury and hatred dripping from his usually calm voice. He grabbed the other boy by his shirt and slammed him up against the wall, glaring. "What did you do to them?"

Shiro's eyes were wide with surprise. He even seemed confused. "Who?"

Kafei pulled him forward only to slam him back at the wall. "Anju and Grog."

Shiro had never seen cool, calm Kafei get so angry. The mayor's son had never looked so dangerous before. In a way, Shiro took pride in the fact that he knew which buttons to push and when. But even so, a look of fear crossed his face for a second before vanishing without a trace. "What are you even _talking _about?"

"Anju's upset and Grog's hurt!" Kafei told him loudly, but not quite loud enough for anyone downstairs to hear.

Shiro's eyebrows furrowed. "Look, if your girlfriend's upset, it's not my fault. Maybe she's having second thoughts about _you-_"

"Shut up!" Kafei shouted, his anger growing. He slammed his first on the wall next to Shiro, causing the other boy to jump.

"And it's not like I care about Grog, but since you're wondering... I saw him up in his room a few minutes ago."

Shiro looked _and _sounded convincing, but Kafei knew better. "What were you doing up here if you don't care about him?"

"Using the bathroom."

"That's _downstairs._"

Shiro flashed him a smug grin before moving out of his grasp. "Oops."

Kafei looked disgusted as he watched the larger boy head down the stairs.

He turned and headed into the employees' only room, praying Grog would be there and not badly injured.

He swung the door open. "Grog?" He glanced around the room, but saw no one there, not even one single person. He noticed the window had been left open and the moonlight was casting shadows around the room.

Something on the desk in front of the window caught his eye and he walked over to examine it. It was a small, folded piece of paper. He picked it up and began to read the words that were scribbled on the small page:

_"Wasn't feeling well. Went to the ranch to see the cuccos. I might be back in the morning. -Grog."_

Kafei shook his head, balling the paper up and shoving it into his pocket.

Something was off - _way _off.

* * *

><p>The pounding headache.<p>

That was the first thing Grog noticed when he woke up.

In fact, his whole body was sore - like he'd been tossed through a windmill or something.

He slowly opened his eyes, trying to ignore the pain of his splitting headache.

Everything was a bit blurry at first, but when he opened his eyes, he found that he was in a very unfamiliar place.

It was dark, a bit cold, and definitely not welcoming.

He was too groggy to panic when he realized he couldn't move at all. His hands were bound behind him and his feet were tied to the legs of the... chair he was sitting on.

He made an effort to move his hands, but only succeeded in putting his wrists in and even more awkward position.

He scanned the room around him, but saw nothing useful. Not a knife, a key, or even a door.

He knew he was in no condition to try to escape and he certainly wasn't okay enough to be aware of his surroundings.

He struggled against the ties around his legs as well, but had no luck with them either.

"It's no use," came a voice from behind. He recognized the voice immediately.

"Ichiro?" he asked slowly. It bothered him that Ichiro was sounding so creepy and he couldn't turn around to face the larger boy. "Where... Where are we?"

"The bottom of the Clock Tower, you idiot," Ichiro answered, coming around with Jiro to stand in front of Grog. "This is the only place no one will find you. No one _ever_ comes here."

"It's..." Grog tried to focus on his words, but his head was screaming at him to shut up. "It's the eve of the carnival. Everyone will be here tonight."

"Yes - they'll be on _top _of the tower. They'll never find you down here. They'll never even notice you're gone." Ichiro smirked.

Grog chuckled as he grimaced. It was a pretty smart plan, which meant neither Jiro nor Ichiro had come up with it.

This was definitely Shiro's plan.

Which meant Anju was in trouble as well.

He tried to move again, but was unable to do so, for his head was still begging him to stop. "What did you hit me with?"

"Your grandmother's purse," Jiro answered, tossing the bag toward Grog where it hit the ground loudly. There was no telling what she put in that thing.

He struggled against the ropes around his wrists again. "Where's Anju?"

"At the inn," came a new voice.

Shiro.

"Don't worry, Grog," he said, a proud smirk on his face as he emerged from the shadows to stand between his buddies. "She's just fine. A little upset, maybe, but that's _nothing _compared to how she'll feel when she finds out your life rests on the shoulders of her decision."

_My life? _Grog thought blankly, not wanting to imagine what _that _could mean. "Leave her out of this," he ordered, sounding calm, but firm.

"I don't know." Shiro shrugged as he kept the evil smirk on his face. "If I were you, I would be glad she's a part of this. After all, if she's smart, you'll live." He paused. "Of course, if I were you, I would have listened to the warnings. I wouldn't have gotten involved." He stepped closer to Grog, looking vicious once again. "But you couldn't stay away. You couldn't keep Anju safe. You're only hurting her now."

Grog glared at him. "What do you have planned?" His headache was, very slowly, subsiding as anger took over.

Shiro grinned. "I told you, I'm going to marry Anju. She'll agree to save your life. And let me tell you, the pain in your head right now isn't even half of what you will be feeling."

Grog's eyes widened a bit. "What-"

He couldn't finish. The air was knocked out of him when he received a punch to the stomach.

His eyes slammed shut and the realization hit him that he was defenseless.

And no one knew where to find him.

* * *

><p>It took him an hour and a half, but Link finally convinced the guards to let him into the inn. The people from the rehearsal dinner - plus Cremia, Romani, and Kafei's family - had stayed in the Stock Pot, refusing to leave.<p>

Anju had convinced Kafei to stay and Kafei had convinced Cremia and Romani, telling them he felt it'd be too dangerous to return to Romani Ranch.

That, of course, angered Anju's mother.

Link, in fact, walked into the inn only to hear Catrina yelling at Kafei as the new, unwelcome guests watched with growing anticipation.

Link rolled his eyes, not bothering to help Kafei before he headed upstairs to find Anju. He'd made a promise and he intended to keep it.

The employees' room was no longer for employees only. Many people, including the mayor's family, had managed to set up blankets and pillows all around the floor, leaving hardly any space to walk in.

Link carefully stepped around all the blankets and people, going over to Anju, who sat by herself on a bed.

She sat up straight, looking eager, when she spotted the hero dressed in green.

"Hey," he said, trying to smile in spite of everything.

"Where's Grog?" she asked, skipping her greeting.

His eyes widened. The question had caught him off guard. "I thought he was with you..."

"No. He went to help you take care of that gunman, but that was the last time I saw him."

Link noticed her face was red. She had obviously been crying and he knew she must have been worried. "Anju, he never showed up. I thought he was with you this whole time."

She was on her feet quicker than ever, her eyes wide with fear. "We've got to find him! Something terrible could have happened!"

Link put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'll have one of the guards notify us if they see him anywhere," he told her. "Right now, you need to rest. Worrying won't help him."

Even though Anju was close to tears, Link noticed a determination on her face that he'd never seen before. She snatched her coat off of a nearby coat rack. "He's my brother. I'm not going to lose him again."

Link sighed in defeat. He knew it was his job to protect Anju and he knew that this was too dangerous, but he was also concerned about Grog.

"Fine," he agreed, "but we'll only search for a few hours. Whether we find him or not, we'll come back to the inn later tonight. You'll need to get some rest before tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"The wedding."

"Oh." Anju strode past him, hoping he hadn't noticed her pained expression.

There would be a wedding the next day. But she wouldn't be marrying her prince charming. She'd be marrying Shiro, the ugly frog.

* * *

><p>Kafei, after finally escaping the wrath of Anju's mother, had gone outside to get some fresh air.<p>

He'd seen Link leave the inn with Anju. He knew they were searching for Grog.

It bothered him a bit that Anju was the only one in Grog's entire family who'd even noticed the teen had vanished.

He sighed. Shiro was definitely up to something.

He pulled the balled up note out of his pocket. "Grog" had said he'd gone to the ranch, but Kafei knew better.

It was a set up.

Shiro had, quite obviously, left the note there. There was no bathroom upstairs. Grog's handwriting, although not the best in the world, was a whole lot better than the mess scribbled on the paper. Not to mention how Grog would have never ran off, not even if he wasn't feeling well. He would be there, supporting Anju.

Kafei was smart enough to know that someone might be in trouble if they went to the ranch right then. That's why he'd wanted Cremia and Romani to stay at the inn.

Just as he thought of the ranch girls, Cremia stepped outside.

"Kafei." She sounded surprised to see him.

He tried to smile at her, but found it rather hard. His fiance was officially calling off the wedding, Grog was missing, and he had dozens of people in town who were scared out of their wits because of a crazy, dangerous gunman on the loose. It had been the worst night of his life.

Cremia noticed his expression almost immediately. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, stopping himself from blurting out every single thing that had gone wrong for him that night. He didn't want to worry her and he knew they had bigger things to think about, anyway. He couldn't be such a selfish person. That wasn't the way he'd been raised. So, that's when he made a quick decision. Something had to go right tonight. He couldn't sit back and watch his life slip away from him. It was time to change things - for the better.

He turned to look his friend in the eyes. "Listen," he began urgently, "Grog has gone missing. Link and Anju went searching for him, but with just the two of them, they probably won't be able to find him tonight."

Cremia's purple eyes went wide. "He's gone?" She sighed. "I knew he was acting weird earlier." She took hold of his hand. "We'll go search for him as well."

He let go of her hand immediately. "Cremia, this could be dangerous. Make sure Romani doesn't come along. I'll search North and West Clock Town, you look East and South."

She nodded fearlessly, turning to leave.

"Cremia."

She looked back at him. "Yes?"

"Thanks. And... be careful." He reached out and pulled her close to him in a warm hug. "It really means a lot that you'd help."

She closed her eyes and nodded into his shoulder. It was breaking her heart, but she realized that this would be the last she'd see of the Kafei she loved so much. He would be married - to a great girl, but still not _her_ - the next morning.

And this small, simple moment was all she'd have left of him.

But, as she thought about how happy he and Anju would be together, she somehow felt at peace about the whole thing. Like maybe she was letting go, a little bit at a time.

She would always love him, but that's exactly why she would never get in the way of his happiness.

* * *

><p>"I don't know, guys..."<p>

"Shut up, Sabooro! You're such a softie!"

Sabooro shook his head. "No. It's just... We can't hurt him. He _is _the mayor's son, after all."

Shiro glanced back at his friend, his eyes narrowed. "Your point?"

Sabooro fidgeted nervously. "Well... I mean, when this is all over, his parents are bound to find out. Grog might not say anything about what has happened tonight, but Kafei will."

Shiro snorted. "So? Anju and I are leaving. I won't be here."

"Yeah, but _we_ will," Jiro pointed out. "We can't risk getting into that much trouble. If you let that happen to us, we'll tell the mayor _and _Mutoh where you're going with Anju."

Shiro's eyes blazed with anger and he whirled around, slamming Jiro into a nearby wall. "What makes you think you can threaten me?"

Jiro regarded him calmly. "Look, all I'm saying is that we shouldn't hurt Kafei - just keep him out of the way for a while. All right?"

Shiro sighed, releasing his friend. "Fine, but I won't make this easy on him." He motioned for his buddies to stay quiet as the boy with the purple hair passed through the shadows of West Clock Town.

"On three," Shiro mouthed to his friends. The three of them waited silently as Shiro counted on his fingers before they all lunged out of their hiding spot and forced a bag over Kafei's head.

"Keep quiet - or else."

* * *

><p><strong>I know! So much is going on at once. o_O But it shall all work out... perhaps. It kind of depends, really. Let me know what you guys think! ;)<strong>

**Thanks for reading! ^_^  
><strong>


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